We'll never know how the ratings in June would have been, but ESPN is certain to be pleased with their decision to move up the premiere of The Last Dance docu-series to April 19th. According to The Athletic's sports media reporter Richard Deitsch, the first two episodes of the docu-series chronicling Michael Jordan and the final season of the Chicago Bulls dynasty set the viewership record for an ESPN documentary.
“The Last Dance averaged 6.1 million viewers for Episodes 1 and 2 over ESPN and ESPN 2. That's the most-watched doc in ESPN history. Tops “You Dont Know Bo” which drew 3.6 million viewers for its debut,” tweeted Dietsch on Monday afternoon.
Clearly, fans hankering for a televised sports event amid the coronavirus pandemic found a temporary reprieve in the highly-anticipated and much-hyped docu-series, which aired at 9 ET on Sunday night. Initially, the critically-acclaimed series was set to air in June on the off-days in between NBA Finals games.
As CNN's media reporter Frank Pallotta added, the biggest markets for The Last Dance viewers came primarily from—not surprisingly—Chicago and North Carolina.
https://twitter.com/frankpallotta/status/1252340219858219010
According to Decider (via ESPN), “the 6.1 million average was for airings on ESPN and ESPN2 over the hours of 9-11pm ET; with 5.7 million watching Episode 1 on ESPN, 5 million for Episode 2. The West Coast re-airings weren’t too shabby either with an average of 794,000 additional viewers.”
The 10-part series directed by Jason Hehir will air two new episodes on ESPN (uncensored) and ESPN2 each Sunday night at 9 ET through May 17. New episodes also hit Netflix for viewers outside the U.S. the morning after airings.
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