Sports

Cavaliers Fans Are Furious With TV Schedule For NBA Playoffs

By Chris Rosvoglou The Spun
Donovan Mitchell dives into the crowd.
Donovan Mitchell dives into the crowd. © Ken Blaze-Imagn Images.

The Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons will begin their second-round playoff series this Tuesday night at Little Caesars Arena. Unfortunately, there are a lot of fans won't be able to watch Game 1.

Although it wasn't easy, the Cavaliers took care of business in Game 7 against the Toronto Raptors to secure a spot in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Pistons, meanwhile, came back from a 3-1 series deficit to keep their championship hopes alive. Cade Cunningham was sensational in the final three games of the opening round, scoring 109 points during that stretch.

While the Cavaliers-Pistons should be great, several Cleveland fans said they'll miss Game 1 since it's going to be streamed on Peacock.

May 3, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; The Cleveland Cavaliers bench celebrates during the second half against the Toronto Raptors in game seven in the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
May 3, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; The Cleveland Cavaliers bench celebrates during the second half against the Toronto Raptors in game seven in the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images © Ken Blaze-Imagn Images.

"How can our voices be heard regarding NBA and Peacock? As our own hometown Cavs play tonight, we are given the OKC vs. LA game to watch," one fan said. "This is just stupid and unfair. Be better than that NBC and NBA."

"I think it's utterly ridiculous that you and @NFL take local tax dollars to fund your stadiums, but locals can't even watch the games at their local sports bar because you made a deal with #peacock or #netflix. Tax payers should get what they pay for," a Cleveland fan wrote on social media.

"I don't get the Peacock channel so I'll be missing the Cavs game tonight. Outside these games, I would never watch that channel. I think putting the games on streaming is a big miss for the NBA. The point should be to grow the fan base, and make games easily available," another Cavaliers fan commented.

"Second round being on Amazon and Peacock as we know is all about $...but what terrible marketing not getting full exposure for your most important games," a social media user added.

Peacock is here to stay for the NBA playoffs.

Whether fans like it or not, Peacock will also stream this Tuesday night's game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder.

It's also worth noting that Peacock isn't the only network streaming NBA playoff games. This Thursday's games for the Cavaliers-Pistons and Lakers-Thunder series will be shown on Prime Video.

Suffice to say, the days of watching the NBA strictly on cable television are over.

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This story was originally published May 5, 2026 at 6:26 PM.