After underwhelming numbers for a documentary about Lance Armstrong, ESPN bounced back in the ratings with Bruce Lee.
The premiere of the ESPN 30 For 30 documentary “Be Water” — about the life of actor and martial artist Bruce Lee — averaged 1.17 million viewers across ESPN and ESPN2 Sunday night, the largest audience for a 30 For 30 premiere since “42 to 1” in December 2018 (1.21M).
“Be Water” comfortably outdrew the preceding 30 For 30 “Lance,” topping part one by 37% (857K) and part two by 47% (796K). It also topped “Vick” earlier in the year, which averaged 941,000 and 608,000 over two installments, but did not have the benefit of an ESPN2 simulcast.
It was the most-watched ESPN program since the end of the much-watched docuseries “The Last Dance” last month, topping two live UFC telecasts — including the previous night’s UFC 250 prelims on ESPN (0.46, 775K).
Keep in mind “The Last Dance” was not technically part of the 30 For 30 series. Viewership for that ten-part series ranged from 4.92 to 6.34 million, for an average of 5.7 million.
For the weekend, “Be Water” ranked no better than sixth among sportscasts behind NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series races on FOX, IndyCar’s season premiere on NBC and two encore presentations of “The Last Dance” on ABC.
[Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily 6.9]
