The NBA Cup, formerly known as the In-Season Tournament, begins knock-out stage play on Tuesday. NBA ratings are down 17% so far this season, but NBA Cup games have outperformed the general trend. AdvertisementDespite early-season ratings declines, there's been a bright spot: fans seem especially interested in the NBA Cup. "But we're definitely seeing some strength, especially when we have top matchups on — and certainly with the NBA Cup games." The NBA hopes that knock-out round games will draw stronger viewership than group-play games, like they did last year.

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Persons: IBM's Jonathan Adashek Cord, NBA execs, Evan Wasch, there's, it's, Wasch, Jenny Whitlock, Tyrese Haliburton, LeBron James, what's, Whitlock Organizations: NBA, League, Business, Nielsen, Disney's ESPN, Comcast's NBC, BI, NFL, Indiana Pacers Locations: Las Vegas, New York, Atlanta, Orlando, Milwaukee, Seattle, Vegas, Sin