TNT continues to build ratings momentum heading into its second-round coverage of the National Basketball Association and National Hockey League playoffs. 

Coming off its most-watched first-round NBA playoffs coverage in five years, TNT’s May 2 coverage of Game 1 of the Los Angeles Lakers-Golden State Warriors Western Conference semifinals drew a cable-record 7.4 million viewers. Through Tuesday night, TNT’s NBA postseason coverage has averaged 3.8 million viewers, up 10% compared to last season, Nielsen reported.  

On the ice, Game 7 of the Boston Bruins-Florida Panthers first-round Stanley Cup playoff series drew 3.2 million viewers to TNT, making it cable’s most-watched first-round game of all time. Overall, TNT averaged 959,000 viewers for its first-round coverage, the most-watched first-round NHL playoffs on cable of all time and up 18% from last year, according to Nielsen.

Warner Bros. Discovery Sports chief content officer Craig Barry, who oversees operations and technology for sports content airing on TNT, TBS and TruTV, spoke with Multichannel News about the network’s fast ratings start to the NBA and NHL postseason. Barry also talks about WBD Sports’ efforts to integrate sports and entertainment through technology and the popular talent found on shows such as Inside the NBA. 

MCN: Are you surprised by the strong ratings performance of the opening rounds of the NBA and NHL playoffs on TNT and to what do you attribute the network’s fast ratings start?

Craig Barry: I’m pleasantly surprised. I think that you're seeing really competitive games both in NBA and NHL playoffs — there’s been a number of overtime games that have really attracted viewers. In the NBA, in particular, you have powerhouse teams in the running. Whenever New York, Los Angeles, Golden State, Miami are in the playoffs, it just feels like the planets are aligned and people are generally really interested. Sports is always matchup-driven at its core. It doesn’t matter how good of a job we do on the production, it's driven by the teams that people love and that the fans love to watch.

MCN: How do you see sports content fitting into the overall programming strategy from TNT and TBS? 

CB: I don't want to speak for the entertainment side of the business, but what I'll say is they are great supporters of sports and it's part of their programming strategy. They can strategically program their entertainment programming around sports — I can tell you five years from now when the playoffs are happening, when March Madness is happening, when the [NBA and NHL] All-Star games are happening. They’ve been great partners.

MCN: WBD Sports has been successful in melding sports with entertainment through shows like Inside the NBA. How important is that in terms of attracting both hardcore and non-sports viewers?  

CB: There’s an intersection between sports and culture that we want to make sure that we understand and serve. We understand the obligation to the hard-core fan, but we also believe in an equal obligation to the casual fan. We look at creating an on-ramp for the casual fan to come in and watch and to be entertained and informed, while creating as much access to the game and to the players on the court or field. 

There are a lot of companies that believe there’s a specific box that you work in, and this is the way to do things. We believe in the individuals that work here, and we believe in and what they bring, as individuals, to the table. We love the kind of authentic output that comes from that. It's not always perfect, but it’s always authentic and that's important. We’ve become well-known for taking that imperfection and turning it into something special. 

MCN: How do you see the TV sports industry evolving in the near future, particularly on the technology side?

CB: That’s an interesting question. The streaming of sports rights content is obviously in the forefront. Being able to deliver your product where the fans are is the most important objective. If your fans don't have cable, make sure you're creating an opportunity on a direct-to-consumer product for your brand, like in our case Max or Bleacher Report. 

I think that's the most important part about streaming — it’s not necessarily differentiating yourself with the presentation, although that's a big part of it. It's first making sure that you can reach that scale of fan and consumer, regardless of where they are. I also feel like one of the largest disruptors is not necessarily just streaming, but also the cost efficiency of content. There are so many platforms calling for so much scale that we have to find ways to create more content at a high-quality level, but where we can scale to various platforms and make sure that we can sustain a model of efficiency while we’re doing that. 

I don’t care if you're a sports network, an entertainment network or a streaming platform, I think everybody sees the demand for content consumption as so large  that in order to be successful in this business you absolutely have to find a model where you have economic efficiencies in the way that you create and distribute content.

Turner Sports said it has signed a multi-year deal to use Intel’s technology to deliver live NBA games in virtual reality, starting with All-Star weekend.

The games will be available to cable and satellite subscribers for free via an authenticated NBA on TNT VR App powered by Intel.

Intel will also be a global provider of virtual reality and 360-degree volumetric video with Intel freeD technology for official NBA broadcast partners globally.

The NBA has jumped into the virtual reality space. Before the season started it announced that its League Pass subscribers will have access to 27 games in VR this season using NextVR technology.

Related: NBA Adds VR Subscription Package to League Pass

“We all recognize that the VR market hasn’t fully materialized, but from the NBA’s point of view, we’d really like to be ready with the best possible experience when it does materialize,” said Jeff Marsilio, vice president, global media distribution, for the NBA. “The partnership represents another opportunity to experiment with a first-class VR technology company in Intel and to work with one of our longest-standing partners in the broadcast space with Turner.”

Marsilio said the NBA sees VR as a way to give fans access they might not otherwise not be able to experience, such as sitting courtside beside big-time celebrities. He says viewing of NBA games in VR is up sharply.

“That means there must have been a lot of progress in the last few months in penetration of the market and maybe, I hope, a lot of progress in the product we’re providing,” he said.

Related: Intel Dumps 'Project Alloy'

The virtual reality games will be different from the games TNT regularly televises. The schedule will be announced closer to the All-Star game. The first arenas to install the Intel freeD technology are the American Airlines Center in Dallas, home of the Mavericks, and Quicken Loans Arena, where LeBron James and the rest of the Cleveland Cavaliers play home games.

Read more at broadcastingcable.com.