THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED premiere of the 10-part ESPN documentary The Last Dance drew in the numbers, averaging 6.1 million viewers for its first two episodes to become the most-viewed documentary content ever of the network.

The series, which debuted on Monday (Manila time), spotlights National Basketball Association legend Michael Jordan and his Chicago Bulls in the 1990s as they went for their sixth title in eight years in 1998, and a repeat three-peat.

It touches on the many issues that hounded the team as it went for one last run at the NBA title.

Episode 1 of The Last Dance averaged 6.3 million viewers and Episode 2 averaged 5.8 million viewers across ESPN and ESPN2, according to numbers shared by the network.

On ESPN alone, the two hours averaged 5.3 million viewers, with Episode 1 delivering 5.6 million viewers and Episode 2 delivering five million.

The premiere episodes rank as the two most-viewed original content broadcasts on ESPN Networks since 2004, surpassing You Don’t Know Bo (3.6 million).

It is also the most-viewed telecast on ESPN since the CFP National Championship Game.

Additionally, ranks as the most-watched telecast among adults 18–34 and 18–49 since sports halted across broadcast and cable networks.

On social media, the documentary also dominated, with The Last Dance the #1 trending topic on the premiere date on Twitter and at one point, 25 of the 30 trending topics were all related to the show.

On Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, Last Dance posts from ESPN accounted for a combined nine million engagements.

The documentary was originally set to be released in June but ESPN moved up the release date as a form of temporary relief from the many concerns surrounding the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

“As society navigates this time without live sports, viewers are still looking to the sports world to escape and enjoy a collective experience. We’ve heard the calls from fans asking us to move up the release date for this series, and we’re happy to announce that we’ve been able to accelerate the production schedule to do just that,” said ESPN in a statement as it announced the early release of The Last Dance.

“This project celebrates one of the greatest players and dynasties ever, and we hope it can serve as a unifying entertainment experience to fill the role that sports often play in our lives, telling a story that will captivate everyone, not just sports fans,” it added.

To reach more people, the documentary series has been made available outside of the United States as well by way of Netflix. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

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