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    ESPN’s Jordan Documentary “The Last Dance” Finishes Strong; Nielsen Week In Review

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments2806 Views
    his June 14, 1998 file photo shows Chicago Bulls' Michael Jordan looking up at the score during the third quarter of their NBA Finals game against the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City. “The Last Dance,” ESPN’s docuseries detailing the 1998 and final season of the Chicago Bulls championship dynasty, has served as a reminder to basketball fans of the greatness of Jordan on the court. It also shed light on his worldwide marketing allure. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

    By David Bauder, Media Writer

    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.

    The series also had a consistency that the former Chicago Bulls star would appreciate. Live viewership for each episode ranged between 4.9 and 6.3 million people, meaning viewers kept coming back, Nielsen said.

    The live count will also ultimately be a fraction of the series' impact. Adding delayed viewing through DVRs and reruns, the first episode has already been seen nearly 15 million times, ESPN said.

    ESPN hopes to make Sunday night documentary-watching a habit among its viewers. In the next month, the network has scheduled films about disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong, martial arts star Bruce Lee and the 1998 home run race between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa.

    Led again by a dominant performance by "60 Minutes," CBS was the most popular broadcast network, averaging 4.9 million viewers in primetime last week. ABC averaged 3.9 million viewers, NBC had 3.5 million, Fox had 2.8 million, Univision had 1.5 million, ION Television had 1.2 million, Telemundo had 900,000 and the CW had 660,000.

    Fox News Channel was the most-watched cable network in primetime, averaging 3.39 million viewers. MSNBC had 2.01 million, CNN had 1.48 million, TLC had 1.31 million and HGTV had 1.29 million.

    ABC's "World News Tonight" led the evening newscasts with an average of 10 million viewers last week. NBC's "Nightly News" had 8.8 million viewers and the "CBS Evening News" had 6 million.

    For the week of May 11-17, here are Nielsen's 20 most popular programs, their networks and viewerships:

    1. "60 Minutes," CBS, 9.94 million.
    2. "Survivor," CBS, 7.96 million.
    3. "911," Fox, 7.293 million.
    4. "The Voice" (Monday), NBC, 7.292 million.
    5. "American Idol," ABC, 7.28 million.
    6. "The Masked Singer," Fox, 7.24 million.
    7. "The Voice" (Tuesday), NBC, 7.06 million.
    8. "NCIS," CBS, 6.77 million.
    9. "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," ABC, 6.5 million.
    10. "The Price is Right Night," CBS, 6 million.
    11. "Young Sheldon," CBS, 5.91 million.
    12. "Station 19," ABC, 5.91 million.
    13. "FBI," CBS, 5.76 million.
    14. "Man With a Plan," CBS, 5.67 million.
    15. "The Happy Days of Garry Marshall," ABC, 5.61 million.
    16. "Mom," CBS, 5.06 million.
    17. "The Last Dance" (Sunday, 9 p.m.), ESPN, 4.95 million.
    18. "FBI: Most Wanted," CBS, 4.73 million.
    19. "Hannity" (Wednesday), Fox News, 4.71 million.
    20. "Broke," CBS, 4.65 million.

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    Category:News
    Tags:ESPNMichael JordanNielsenThe Last Dance



    SAG-AFTRA National Board Approves TV/Theatrical Deal; Membership To Vote On Ratification

    Tuesday, May 12, 2026

    The SAG-AFTRA National Board met yesterday (5/11) in a special videoconference meeting and decisively voted to approve the tentative agreement reached for the 2026 TV/Theatrical Contracts. The agreement will now be submitted to the membership for ratification with the board’s recommendation for a “yes” vote.

    The parties have committed to merging the SAG-Producers Pension Plan and AFTRA Retirement Fund into a single merged plan with an additional 1% to the contribution rate effective on the target completion date of January 1, 2028. The merger will increase contribution rates and improve benefits for both SAG and AFTRA participants.

    Additionally, the agreement builds on SAG-AFTRA’s existing guidelines around AI including new provisions strengthening consent and compensation and establishing new and enhanced guardrails on synthetics including:

    --Agreement to a principle strongly favoring human performances.
    --Producers do not intend to use a synthetic in a human role that would otherwise be performed by a human unless the synthetic brings “significant additional value” to the motion picture.
    --Performers’ digital replicas are now protected from crossing a picket line during a strike.
    --Protections for minors on the use of their digital replica.
    --Producers must have an articulable business reason to scan someone for a digital replica.
    --Minimum wage rates will increase by 3% annually (compounded) from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2030. The health plan contribution rate will increase by 1% effective July 1, 2026, there will be a one-time increase to the quarterly eligibility premiums, and the earnings thresholds will increase by an additional 1% (at 3% per year instead of 2%) over the... Read More

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