A&E’s ‘Roots’ Debut No Match for Original in Ratings

New York Times: Confronted with stiff competition from the N.B.A. playoffs, the premiere of the A&E mini-series “Roots” debuted to a total of 5.3 million viewers on Monday night. Though that is nowhere near the number who watched the 1977 version of “Roots,” which set television ratings records, the audience on Monday represented the highest for a premiere of a scripted cable mini-series in three years.