Sports documentary 'Last Dance' continues to reel in viewers

Ratings for ESPN's "The Last Dance" dipped again on Sunday, but the documentary about Michael Jordan and the 1990s Chicago Bulls continues to draw more viewers than almost all other sports programming.

The 10-part documentary series, divided into 10 one-hour episodes, chronicles the Bulls' path to the 1997-98 NBA championship.

Episodes 7 and 8 drew 5.3 million and 4.9 million viewers, respectively, on Sunday, ESPN announced on Monday.

The first six episodes were watched initially by 6.3 million, 5.8 million, 6.1 million, 5.7 million, 5.8 million and 5.2 million viewers. 

The odd-numbered episodes are attracting higher viewership because they are airing at 9 pm ET, while the even-numbered episodes are airing at 10 pm ET.

Top trending topic

According to ESPN, the first eight episodes of "The Last Dance" all rank among the 10 most-viewed sports telecasts since virtually all major sports competitions shut down in mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Including people who taped the programme and watched it later, those who watched it through video on demand or those who viewed reruns, the first six episodes are now averaging 12.2 million viewers, per ESPN.

The Chicago TV market continues to produce the highest ratings for "The Last Dance," with 11.6 percent of all TV households tuning on Sunday night. 

Other top-rated markets included Greensboro, NC (5.7); Raleigh-Durham (4.6) and Nashville (4.4).

For the fourth week in a row, "The Last Dance" led all TV programmes in social-media mentions, again emerging as the top trending topic on Twitter.

"The Last Dance" concludes this Sunday on ESPN and ESPN2 with Episode 9 at 9 pm ET and Episode 10 at 10 pm ET.