Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl – This was based on total viewership according to TNT.  A reported 11.1 Million Viewers watched all or part of the Bulls Victory.  Chicago & South Florida Drew the most Viewers, 3rd according to rating to CNBC was…Cleveland!  Damn, they’re not gonna let this LeBron thing go for a long time are they?

So who’s watching?

LeBron James’ new hometown, his old hometown, and seemingly everybody else.

TNT, the cable network that is carrying this Miami Heat-Chicago Bulls best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals, announced Monday that Sunday’s Game 1 was the most-viewed NBA game in the history of cable television, based on total viewership.

According to a release from the network, 11.1 million viewers watched all or part of the Bulls’ 103-82 victory at the United Center.

That total eclipsed the previous record of 10,829,000 total viewers for the 2003 NBA All-Star Game, which was Michael Jordan’s final All-Star Game appearance.

The NBA Finals are not included in the comparison, with those games broadcast over network television, in this year’s case, on ABC.

Last year, TNT’s first broadcast of the conference-final round, a game between the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers, delivered 7,112,000 viewers.

According to CNBC, Chicago and South Florida were the top-ranked markets in the ratings for Game 1 of Heat-Bulls, with Cleveland a somewhat surprising third in the ratings.

James left the Cleveland Cavaliers last summer to sign with the Heat as a free-agent, sparking a backlash in northeast Ohio against the Heat forward, one that apparently did not include any sort of playoff blackout in Cleveland. The Cavaliers did not make the playoffs.

According to CNBC, 24.3 percent of Chicago households watched Heat-Bulls, 23.3 percent of South Florida households (which does not include the West Palm Beach market) and 10.5 percent of Cleveland households.

TNT and ESPN alternate conference-final coverage, with ESPN this year carrying the Western Conference finals between the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder.

Game 2 of the Heat-Bulls series is Wednesday at the United Center.

[email protected]. Follow him at twitter.com/iraheatbeat. –CBS