Michael Jordan documentary on ESPN sets ratings record

Bob
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Posted on: April 21, 2020 6:17 pm EDT

Last Dance is a slam dunk broadcast for ESPN

There is no better time to introduce television hits to the world’s audience than right now. With most people staying at home to stop the spreading of the coronavirus that has taken over the world, watching television shows is certainly one of the preferred indoor activities. This is especially true if it’s a show about one of the biggest legends in the basketball scene and the NBA, Michael Jordan. This 10-part series presented by ESPN about the NBA legend has been the most-watched documentary in all of the network’s history and has set viewing records since its release.

As per reports from Nielsen, during the first two hours of the “Last Dance” series that aired on Sunday, the total viewers were reported at 6.1 million, just in the US. Before this documentary, the record was for baseball and football star Bo Jackson with the “You Don’t Know Bo” documentary back in 2012. It reported a total of 3.6 million viewers back then, but this includes only people watching via television, not any streaming platforms.

There are two versions of the documentary – one edited to remove the candid language and vulgarities present during interviews not only with Jordan, but other interviewees, as well. This version is being showcased on ESPN 2. “The Last Dance” was such a hit that at some point during Sunday, more than 25 trending topics on the social media platform Twitter were related to Jordan and the show. During the first two hours, all personalities that appeared in the show – Barack Obama and Bill Clinton and NBC Sports broadcaster Bob Costas – became trending topics.