ESPN's 'The Last Dance' Averaged 6.1 Million Viewers During Premiere

Officially making it the network’s most-watched documentary.

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The premiere of the Chicago Bulls documentary series The Last Dance scored a record viewership for ESPN, with The Action Network reporting a whopping average of 6.1 million viewers.

The documentary’s first and second episode both debuted on ESPN and ESPN2, the opening episode tallying a total of 6.3 million viewers and the latter with 5.8 million viewers. To put things in perspective, the total number, which comes from cable views and not network TV, equates to approximately 40% of ABC’s viewership numbers from the 2019 NBA Finals.

The Last Dance is officially marked as ESPN’s most-watched documentary, dethroning the 30 for 30 series on Bo Jackson by almost double the viewership. The 10-part docuseries will continue to release two episodes per week until May 17, and viewers outside the United States will be able to stream the episodes on Netflix the day after it airs on ESPN.

In related news, Michael Jordan’s game-worn and hand-signed “Dream Team” jersey from 1992 just sold at auction for over $200,000 USD.

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Sophie Caraan
Sophie Caraan Managing Editor

Sophie Caraan is the Managing Editor at Hypebeast, where she sets the editorial direction, standards, and output strategy for the HQ team. With a decade of editorial experience, she brings both a storyteller's instinct and a strategist's eye — spotlighting the figures and movements that shape the culture across a multitude of lanes. Her tenure is marked by high-impact conversations with the likes of RZA, Mads Mikkelsen, CORTIS, Erling Haaland, Kasing Lung, NIGO, and more.

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