If Michael Jordan had bet on Chicago TV ratings for ESPN’s Bulls documentary, “The Last Dance,” continuing to rise in Week 3, he would be sending someone a cashier’s check Monday.
Episodes 5 and 6 of the 10-part series averaged a combined 11.4 household rating in the Chicago market Sunday night on ESPN and ESPN2, which presents a version stripped of profanities, in their original 8-10 p.m. telecast.
That Nielsen estimate represents 11.4% of the market, or roughly 371,230 homes, which is about 61,870 fewer Chicago-area households than watched Episodes 3 and 4 a week earlier and 26,050 fewer than Episodes 1 and 2 drew in the series’ first week.
Even so, Sunday’s two episodes were by far the highest-rated programs on Chicago television. The closest was CBS’ “60 Minutes” with a 7.5 household rating.
Nationally, Sunday’s two new episodes averaged 5.5 million viewers across ESPN and ESPN2. That’s down roughly 400,000 viewers from a week earlier and 600,000 from the first week. Those figures do not include repeats, streaming and on-demand viewing.
Episode 6, which dealt with Jordan’s gambling, was the lowest-rated episode in Chicago to date. Its 10.7 rating (including a 1.5 rating on ESPN2 and 9.2 on ESPN) was a full point behind the previous nadir, an 11.7 rating for Episode 2 two weeks ago.
The series’ fifth hour, which included a symbolic passing of the superstar mantle from Jordan to Lakers teen Kobe Bryant at the 1998 NBA All-Star Game, averaged a combined 12.1 household rating in the Chicago market. ESPN drew a 10.4 rating, ESPN2 a 1.7.
There are two more weeks and four episodes of “The Last Dance” to go. Parts 7 and 8 are set for 8 and 9 p.m. Sunday. The series is scheduled to conclude May 17.