TV viewership is up for NBA playoffs; big increases for conference finals

TV viewership is up for NBA playoffs

NEW YORK — TV viewership is way up for the NBA playoffs.

Ratings for the Western Conference finals on ESPN increased 32 percent from the network’s conference finals coverage last year. The Eastern Conference finals on TNT were up 30 percent from its conference finals coverage in 2008.

For the entire playoffs, TNT’s ratings were up 19 percent from a year ago. ESPN’s increased 12 percent.