ESPN saw a strong finish to its ten-part docs-series The Last Dance. After episodes seven and eight drew the two smallest audience’s of the series’s run, there was some question as to how the numbers would shape up on Sunday night.
In the end, episode nine saw 10% audience growth from episode 7, which aired in the same time slot the week before. It also became the third most-watched episode of The Last Dance. Episode ten saw a 9.8% audience jump from episode eight, which aired in the same time slot the previous week.
Every single episode of The Last Dance drew considerably more eyeballs than 2012’s You Don’t Know Bo, which had been ESPN’s highest rated documentary ever. The ten episodes of The Last Dance averaged 5.6 million viewers.
“We are thrilled with the response from fans throughout the run of the series,” ESPN’s Executive Vice President of Content, Connor Schell said in a press release. “The past five Sunday nights have brought fans together providing the type of communal viewing experience traditionally reserved for live sports. The exceptional content of the series has cut through culturally and sparked conversations far beyond ESPN platforms. We are grateful to Jason and his creative team and all of our production partners on the film and look forward to seeing fans continue to engage with The Last Dance in the days and weeks ahead through the ESPN app.”
