The problem with the NBA (and the NHL, for that matter) was that its playoffs on weeknights ran into prime time TV shows and the super hits like "Dallas" could get as many as 90 million tuning into their top episodes ("Who shot JR?") and televised sports couldn't come close to that aside of the World Series and the Superbowl. It all changed when cable TV and cable sports channels became more popular and the prime time TV viewing got diluted to the point where a 15 million eyeball program is deemed a huge success story. But it wasn't the case of the NBA becoming more popular - it was pretty popular when Byrd and Magic came onto the scene at the end of 1979 - it was the case of the TV universe going from half a dozen local channels to five dozen.