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[05/27/11 - 11:01 AM]
2011 NBA Playoffs on TNT Were Most Watched in Cable Television History
TNT spins the numbers for its postseason coverage to date.

[via press release from TNT]

2011 NBA PLAYOFFS ON TNT WERE MOST WATCHED IN CABLE TELEVISION HISTORY; TNT AVERAGED 5.5 MILLION TOTAL VIEWERS AND A 3.5 U.S. HH RATING

GAME #5 OF THE NBA'S EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS DELIVERED 10.4 MILLION TOTAL VIEWERS AND A 6.3 OVERALL U.S. HH RATING

TNT's coverage of the 2011 NBA Playoffs is one for the record books. The network's 40-game coverage of the NBA Playoffs set ratings and viewership records for cable television and soared over TNT's coverage last year, averaging a 3.5 U.S. HH Rating (+25%), 5,534,000 Total Viewers (+29%) and 3,999,000 Households (+26%).

The network's six weeks of Playoffs coverage culminated on Thursday with TNT's exclusive coverage of the NBA's Eastern Conference Finals Game #5 featuring the Miami Heat @ Chicago Bulls. TNT's final game of the 2011 NBA Playoffs delivered 10.4 million total viewers and a 6.3 U.S. HH rating.

Overall, TNT's 2011 NBA Playoffs coverage also delivered strong double-digit year-over-year growth across all key demos including:

A18-34 +37% (1,803,000 vs. 1,312,000)

A18-49 +33% (3,165,000 vs. 2,371,000)

A25-54 +29% (2,868,000 vs. 2,224,000)

M18-34 +36% (1,245,000 vs. 916,000)

M18-49 +35% (2,222,000 vs. 1,648,000)

M25-54 +30% (1,995,000 vs. 1,530,000)

Source: Nielsen Media Research. Live +Same Day data. 4/17/11-5/26/11 vs 4/18/10-5/29/10.

With the NBA Playoffs performing at record levels, TNT topped the ad-supported cable rankings as the #1 network in primetime throughout its six weeks of coverage (4/17-5/24). Additionally, TNT won the night in key adult demos for both broadcast and cable 15 of 22 nights for M18-34, 10 times in M18-49, five times in P18-34, six times for M25-54 and twice for P18-49.

Source: Nielsen Media Research. Live +Same Day data. 4/17/11-5/24/11.

NBA Digital, co-managed by Turner Sports and the NBA, has seen similar record-breaking traffic to-date for its online and mobile coverage. NBA.com has delivered 1.5 billion page views and a 545 million video streams, up 40% and 134%, respectively. While NBA Mobile downloads for the NBA GameTime are up 75% compared to last year.

NBA.com:

1.5 billion page views were viewed, an increase of 40% from last year's coverage.

545 million videos were viewed, an increase of 134% from 2010.

8 million average daily uniques, an increase of 78% from 2010.

Source: Omniture, NBA Internal Data

NBA Mobile:

Since the start of the playoffs, NBA mobile apps have received more than 681,000 downloads an increase of 75% YOY. (Sources: Apple, Google, RIM)

"This was one of the most thrilling seasons in NBA history, leading to record-breaking ratings and enormous success for TNT," said David Levy, president of sales, distribution and sports, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. "From the tip-off of our 52-game regular season to All-Star Weekend to TNT's coverage of 40 Playoff games, this NBA season was about setting new records and creating winning nights of television. Through a multiplatform strategy, we also achieved more than great ratings. We used all of our television, broadband and mobile assets to connect everywhere our audiences watch the NBA, building the largest possible viewership across all platforms."

The five-game Heat-Bulls series, won by Miami, was the most-watched Conference Finals in cable television history, averaging 6.2 U.S. HH Rating (+29% year-over-year), 10,413,000 Total Viewers (+33%) and 7,190,000 Households (+30%).

The Heat-Bulls series featured three of the top four most-watched games in cable television history, led by Game #1, delivering 11.1 million total viewers, with a 6.2 U.S. HH rating.

Game #3 was the second most-watched NBA game in cable television history with nearly 10.9 million total viewers and 6.4 U.S. HH rating.

Game #5 was the fourth most-watched NBA game in cable television history with 10.4 million total viewers, and with a 6.3 U.S. HH rating.

Source: Nielsen Media Research. Live +Same Day data. 5/15/11-5/26/11.

TNT's postseason success follows the network's record-setting regular season which averaged a 1.6 U.S. household rating (+45% vs. 1.1 for last year's corresponding coverage); 2,453,000 total viewers (+42% vs. 1,723,000); and 1,826,000 households (+39% vs. 1,315,000). In addition, this season's audience is +30% larger than Turner's second-best regular-season audience from 1995-96 (1,885,000). Also, TNT aired three of the top five all-time most watched NBA regular-season games in cable television history this season and scored significant growth in all key demos:

A18-34 +49% (810,000 vs. 544,000)

A18-49 +47% (1,378,000 vs. 937,000)

A25-54 +42% (1,221,000 vs. 857,000)

M18-34 +43% (567,000 vs. 396,000)

M18-49 +45% (970,000 vs. 667,000)

M25-54 +40% (855,000 vs. 609,000)

Source: Nielsen Media Research. Live +Same Day data. 10/26/10-4/12/11.

About Turner Sports

Turner Sports, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., is an industry leader in televised and online sports programming, airing championship level sporting events on TBS, TNT and truTV, and managing some of the most popular sports sites on the Internet. Turner Sports' television line-up includes the NBA, Major League Baseball, the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship, NASCAR and professional golf. The company's digital portfolio includes SI.com, NASCAR.COM, NCAA.com, PGATOUR.COM, GOLF.com and PGA.com, as well as an accompanying collection of mobile websites and connected device apps. Turner Sports and the NBA also jointly manage NBA Digital, which includes NBA TV, NBA.com, NBA LEAGUE PASS, NBA Mobile, the NBA Game Time App, NBADLEAGUE.com and WNBA.com.

Source: Nielsen Media Research, Live + Same Day Data stream. . Comparisons for the NBA Playoffs on TNT: Conference Finals through Game 4 to-date; 39 games vs. 37 games (04/17/2011 - 05/24/2011) vs. (04/18/2010-5/25/ 2010). Historical comparisons for NBA Round 1, 2 and Conference Finals through Cable only for seasons: 1984-2011.





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