Despite duds, ESPN/ABC playoff ratings up over last year

A general lack of competitive basketball in this spring's playoffs hasn't dented the NBA's playoff TV ratings - it appears to have actually done the opposite.

Viewership on ESPN/ABC alone is up five percent over 2016, according to Nielsen figures cited by Ben Cafardo from ESPN. The Golden State Warriors' first-round Game 1 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers was also ABC’s most-watched NBA Playoffs opening weekend game ever, with 6.6 million viewers.

ESPN's streaming audience has also set records for the sports media giant, with an average of 112,000 viewers, up 24 percent from last year.