Opening of NBA playoffs gives ratings win to ABC, ESPN

By DAVID BAUDER
AP Media Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — There’s no overwhelming favorite for NBA champion as the playoffs start, but that was by no means a problem for ABC and ESPN. The five opening-round games of the playoffs last weekend averaged 4.17 million viewers on the two networks, up 32 percent from last year and the best showing for a playoff start since 2011. The big winner was the Boston Celtics-Brooklyn Nets game Sunday afternoon on ABC, which reached 6.9 million viewers. The Nielsen company says that makes it the most-watched opening round game since 2016. The game was won on a last-second layup by the Celtics, and TV viewership peaked at nearly 10 million people when that happened.