FanHouse

I hate talking about ratings when it comes to sports because I find them inherently meaningless. More sporting events are shown on cable than ever before, which means that ratings are almost always down when compared to previous years when they were shown on over-the-air network television. Plus, there's just more competition for our entertainment needs these days, such as TiVo and the internet. But knowing this, I'm actually impressed to see that the NBA's ratings increased by more than 30% over last year. From Sports Media Watch:

Meanwhile, ESPN's opening day tripleheader saw soaring ratings. Cavaliers/Wizards drew a 2.1 in the ratings-unfriendly 12:30 PM timeslot, up 50% from a 1.4 for Nets/Raptors last year. Mavericks/Hornets drew a 2.4, up 60% from a 1.5 for last year's Magic/Pistons game. The highest rated game of the day on ESPN was Jazz/Rockets, which drew a 2.5 rating -- up 39% from a 1.8 for the same game last year.

Before the NBA spins this too much, I have a couple of theories for the increase. For one, last year's Pistons/Magic series was a predictable yawner, while Cavs/Wiz has been built up in the press thanks to DeShawn Stevenson, LeBron James and Soulja Boy. The Nets/Raps series was actually entertaining last year, but ratings (as far as I'm aware) don't take into account Canadian viewers, so it stands to reason that two U.S. teams are producing higher numbers.

But still, an increase is an increase no matter what the explanation, and it's nice to see more people tuning into what should be one of the most exciting playoffs (in the West, at least) in recent memory.