Strong finish for ESPN’s Jordan doc, ‘The Last Dance’

| May 22, 2020 | Entertainment, SPORTS | No Comments
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FILE -In this Aug. 8, 1992 photo, the USA’s Scottie Pippen, left, with Michael Jordan, center, and Clyde Drexler, pose with their gold medals after beating in Barcelona. Jordan tells the Associated Press that  he laughed when heard Kobe Bryant said this year’s USA Olympic basketball team could beat the Dream Team that Jordan played on. Jordan said “It’s not even a question” who would have won that game. “We had 11 Hall of Famers on that team. Whenever they get 11 Hall of Famers you call and ask me.” (AP Photo/Susan Ragan)

By DAVID BAUDER

NEW YORK (AP) — In basketball terms, “The Last Dance” had a strong fourth quarter.

The last two episodes of the 10-part Michael Jordan documentary, strung out over the last five Sunday nights, averaged 5.9 million viewers, the Nielsen company said. It was simulcast on ESPN and ESPN2.

That’s easily the highest-rated documentary project ever for the sports network. It was also a desperately-needed bright spot for ESPN, which has been suffering because of the absence of live sporting events during the coronavirus pandemic.

It was considered such a high-profile event that some newspaper sports pages — also deprived of material — have covered the documentary like its own event.

“The exceptional content of the series has cut through culturally and sparked conversations far beyond ESPN platforms,” said Connor Schell, the network’s executive vice president for content.