NBA Playoff TV Ratings Soar, Commissioner Pleasantly Surprised
NEW YORK (AP) -- Television viewership for the NBA playoffs is up nearly a third from last season.
An offseason of intrigue has been followed by strong ratings for the regular season and postseason.
First-round games on ABC, ESPN and TNT were watched by an average of 4.15 million people, up from fewer than 3.2 million last year.
To this point of the playoffs, TNT has drawn the highest average rating ever for games on cable. ABC's first-round ratings were the best since 2004.
Commissioner David Stern says "we're actually a little surprised, but pleasantly."
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
