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Opening of NBA playoffs gives ratings win to ABC, ESPN
NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA playoffs have begun with no clear championship favorite, and that appears to be good news for ABC and ESPN.
The opening-round schedule of five games last weekend on the networks had more viewers than any playoff start since 2011, and its average of 4.17 million was up 32% over last year, the Nielsen company said.
Leading the way was the instant classic between the Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics, with 6.9 million viewers Sunday afternoon, making it the most-watched first round game since 2016, Nielsen said. Viewership peaked at 9.8 million when the Celtics hit a last-second layup to win 115-114.
Among the broadcast networks, CBS led the way last week with an average of 4.5 million viewers in prime time. ABC had 3.5 million, NBC had 3 million, Fox had 2.8 million, Univision had 1.4 million, Ion Television had 1 million and Telemundo had 800,000.