In a big win for cord-cutters, Channel 43 to broadcast 5 Cavaliers games

Cord-cutters, dust off those bunny ears.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are returning to WUAB Channel 43 after a six-year absence.

The Cavaliers and Gray Television, parent company of Channel 43, announced a joint agreement to offer over-the-air distribution of five upcoming Cavs games. And they’re marquee matchups.

Games scheduled to air on Channel 43 are:

• March 5 – Cavs vs. Celtics
• March 8 – Cavs vs. Timberwolves
• March 29 – Cavs vs. 76ers
• April 6 – Cavs at Los Angeles Lakers
• April 7 – Cavs at Los Angeles Clippers

While these five games will not be available on the Bally Sports app or via Bally Sports Ohio, the Cavs broadcasting team will remain the same.

John Michael will continue to call play-by-play for all Cavs games on Bally Sports Ohio and the games distributed over-the-air through Gray, accompanied by analysts Austin Carr and Brad Daugherty. Serena Winters and Cayleigh Griffin will remain as sideline reporter and co-host of “Cavaliers Live,” respectively.

“We are constantly evaluating every available opportunity to create the greatest experience for all fans of Cavaliers Basketball,” said Nic Barlage, CEO of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Rock Entertainment Group and Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. “Given the current dynamic media landscape, we have prioritized how we can expand our audience in every way possible. This partnership with Gray allows us to test out a new model of distribution that has the potential to reach more of our fans across our region.”

The “new model of distribution” likely won’t include Bally Sports Ohio in the future.

Diamond Sports Group, which operates Bally Sports Ohio and other Bally Sports regional channels, filed for bankruptcy in March 2023. The company was prepared to wind down operations by the end of 2024 until it announced a funding deal in January.

As part of the deal, Amazon will kick in $115 million to take a minority equity stake in Diamond, Reuters reported. That means “Amazon’s Prime Video will now become the primary partner through which customers can buy direct-to-consumer access to stream Diamond’s local channels, which carry the games of more than 40 major sports teams across the United States,” according to a Reuters article.

Fans of a certain age will remember that Channel 43 was the over-the-air home of the Cavaliers from 1994 to 2018, and for most of the 1980s.

In related Eastern Conference news, Atlanta-based Gray Television also announced that it will broadcast 10 Milwaukee Bucks games on WMLW “The M” in Milwaukee.