Nobody expected Lance Armstrong to measure up to Michael Jordan in the ratings, but even Michael Vick was a bigger draw.
The premiere of the two-part ESPN 30 For 30 documentary “Lance” averaged a combined 857,000 viewers across ESPN and ESPN2 Sunday night — down 9% from part one of the previous 30 For 30, “Vick” in January (941K).
ESPN’s ten-part docuseries “The Last Dance” — which was not technically a 30 For 30 — averaged 6.1 million viewers on its first night back in April and 5.6 million across all episodes.
Notably, “Lance” even fell short of Saturday’s “Last Dance” re-airs on ABC. The rebroadcasts of episodes one and two averaged 1.56 and 1.54 million viewers (with the caveat that those are not exactly great numbers for primetime broadcast television).
Even with the weak numbers, Sunday’s premiere was still the most-watched ESPN program since the end of “The Last Dance” the previous weekend.
Due partly to the success of “The Last Dance” — and the pressing need for content during a time when most sports have been called off — ESPN moved up “Lance” and two other 30 For 30 series. Part two of “Lance” will air next week, followed by “Be Water” about Bruce Lee on June 7 and “Long Gone Summer” about the Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire home run chase on June 14.
