NBA Play-In Doubleheader On TNT Jumps By 60% Over Regular-Season Ratings

The NBA postseason tipped off — sort of — Tuesday on TNT, with the first two of the Covid-shortened season’s games to determine the final playoff teams. And the Turner network had to be happy with the tune-in for the play-ins.

The doubleheader of Eastern Conference games was up by an attention-getting 60% over the network’s regular-season average, TNT said.

The Boston Celtics’ 118-100 win over the Washington Wizards averaged 2.5 million viewers, beating any TNT regular-season telecast since Opening Night just before Christmas. With a 6:30 p.m. ET start time, Indiana Pacers 144-117 pasting of the Charlotte Hornets averaged 1.4 million viewers.

The 2021-only play-in format sees the seventh- and eighth-place teams in each conference play each other, with the winner earns the No. 7 seed. The loser plays the winner of the 9-10 game, and the winner of that game becomes the No. 8 seed in the playoffs. Teams seeded 7 or 8 need to win just one play-in game to advance, while the 9 and 10 seeds must win two.

Tonight’s Western Conference games on ESPN feature the seventh-seeded Los Angeles Lakers hosting the No. 8 Warriors and the No. 9 Memphis Grizzlies at home against the No. 10 San Antonio Spurs. The West’s next game is Friday on ESPN, with the Eastern matchup set for Thursday on TNT.

Read More About:

Source: Read Full Article