Episode 187 – Inside the disputes keeping Cavs and Browns games off our TVs

As of Monday afternoon, subscribers of YouTube TV, Hulu and Sling in Northeast Ohio were blocked out from watching Cavs games on Fox Sports Ohio. Local DIRECTV and AT&T Uverse subscribers are keeping their fingers crossed that they don’t have to watch the Browns’ Sunday Night Football game on a Spanish network because they are currently blocked from receiving WKYC.

With disputes between cable providers and network operators on the rise, Awful Announcing owner and editor Ben Koo joins The Nail to explain why losing access to big games is becoming a more frequent problem and how soon we can expect deals in these latest fights to be reached. Plus: Sinclair betting big on a reimagined regional sports network model, how much teams and leagues get involved in negotiations between cable companies and networks to ensure their games are available as widely as possible, and other sports broadcasting trends to watch in 2021.

On Awful Announcing: Sports fans are hostages in carriage disputes and we often pay the ransom

On WFNY: Waiting all day for Sunday night no more: Browns flexed to SNF


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Intro/outro music: "The 3rd" by Anitek

Photo illustration by The Nail in the Coffin

Episode 186 – Football flailing amid COVID chaos, Browns soldiering on, OSU sidelined

An NFL game between Baltimore and Pittsburgh that was supposed to be played on Thanksgiving night is now scheduled for a Wednesday afternoon in December so as not to conflict with the lighting of a Christmas tree in New York. The Ohio State Buckeyes have played four games and are currently in position to make the College Football Playoff, but are also on the verge of not qualifying for the Big Ten championship game. And yet it’s the NBA, which earned praise for the safety of its bubble over the summer, that is now getting ready for what might be the riskiest plan of all for its new season. Welcome to winter sports in the pandemic!

The guys discuss the COVID chaos engulfing the NFL and college football, the Browns somehow being in position to finally make the playoffs, the Cavs’ iffy Rock Hall-inspired City edition uniforms, Cleveland’s regional sports networks still not being available on many Northeast Ohio TVs and more.


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Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | TuneIn | Stitcher

Catch us on WaitingForNextYear.com

Like us on Facebook: Facebook.com/TheNailPodcast

Follow us on Twitter: @TheNailPodcast 

Intro/outro music: "The 3rd" by Anitek

Image from Freepik.com | Photo illustration by The Nail in the Coffin