‘The Last Dance’ Delivers Massive Audience For Second Straight Week

“The Last Dance” continued its momentum on its second night.

Episodes 3 and 4 averaged 5.9 million viewers across ESPN & ESPN2 from 9-11 p.m. ET, with episode 3 (9-10 p.m.) averaging 6.1 million viewers and episode 4 (10-11 p.m.) averaging 5.7 million viewers. 

Combined with last week’s premiere episodes, the documentary series now represents the four most-viewed original content broadcasts on ESPN Networks since 2004 and is averaging 6.0 million viewers across its first four episodes. “The Last Dance” accounts for 4 of the 6 most-viewed telecasts among adults 18-34 since sports halted in mid-March.

In the last week, episodes 1 and 2 also received an additional 3.2 million average viewers per episode – a 52 percent lift – from time-shifted and on-demand viewing. 

Episode

Average Viewership (ESPN & ESPN2)

Episode 1 (4/19, 9pm)

6,340,000

Episode 2 (4/19, 10pm)

5,792,000

Episode 3 (4/26, 9pm)

6,144,000

Episode 4 (4/26, 10pm)

5,657,000

Combining episodes 3 and 4, the Chicago market averaged a 12.6 rating, up +3 percent versus last week, and remained the top rated local market. Raleigh-Durham (6.0 rating), Greensboro (5.3 rating), Philadelphia (5.3 rating) and Charlotte (5.1 rating) round out the top 5. Detroit averaged a 3.1 rating for episodes 3 and 4, an increase of +37% from episodes 1 and 2.