Matt Stone and Trey Parker
Matt Stone and Trey Parker pose with Tony Awards they won for their musical 'The Book of Mormon' including Best Musical during the American Theatre Wing's 65th annual Tony Awards ceremony in New York REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

ABC's NBA finals coverage brought in the most viewers of any telecast on Sunday, but the Tony Awards provided stiff competition. The Award show brought in 6.9 million viewers, despite the Mavericks vs. Heat game last night.

The program, hosted by Neil Patrick Harris saw a 9 percent gain over last year's ratings for the 18 - 49 demographic.

Possibly helping in ratings was the spotlight on The Book of Mormon, by the South Park creators, which took home a total of nine prizes, including Best Musical.

There were also many stars who flocked to the event, including Catherine Zeta-Jones, Al Pacino, Hugh Jackman, and Daniel Radcliffe (star of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying).

Catherine Zeta-Jones was also at the ceremony presenting two awards. Zeta-Jones presented Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play, and Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical. This was the actress's first public appearance since she announced her struggle with bipolar disorder in April.

Helping keep viewers interested was host Neil Patrick Harris who has received rave reviews from critics.

Neil Patrick Harris proves a wickedly witty host in a loose yet old-fashioned celebration of theater sprinkled liberally with TV stars to keep mainstream audiences interested, wrote critic Robert Lloyd in the Los Angeles Times.

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