Sports media spotlight: ‘The Last Dance’ is breaking records and filling the sports TV void
Some sports should come back this month — including UFC 249 (May 9), the charity golf matchup paring Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning against Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady (potentially this month), and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 (May 24) — but it’s a 22-year-old sporting event that has been dominating sports on TV lately.
“The Last Dance,” the 10-episode look-back at the Chicago Bulls’ 1997-98 championship season, has been drawing viewers and priming the programming pump for ESPN without competition.
It’s been record-breaking, revealing and, at times, ridiculous.
First, the records. Through four episodes the series has produced the four most-viewed non-game programs on ESPN since 2004. Last week’s two-hourlong episodes averaged 6.14 million viewers and 5.66 million viewers at 9 and 10 p.m., respectively.
There are two more episodes Sunday night, and two each of the next two Sundays as the series moves toward its conclusion.
It’s a well-produced look back at the season, with an appropriate focus on the primary personalities: Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman and Pat Riley. For younger viewers, the personalities of the team and the twists and turns of the season probably provide some context and depth to what might’ve been an incomplete appreciation or understanding of all those people.
All viewers would be wise to keep in mind what’s missing, though. That’s not any real perspective from the person framed as the villain in the piece, former Bulls general manager Jerry Krause, who died in 2017. In fairness, he might’ve been wrong in breaking apart the team, or it might’ve been cost prohibitive to continue, or maybe it’s Jordan telling his own story the way he wants.
Still, even without that necessary context, it’s generally good TV. Not cinematic, but certainly behind-the-scenes access. It’s the kind of thing sports fans appreciate, and that shows in the ratings.
Without any other sports on TV, ESPN has built about everything else it does — especially “SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt” on Sundays, as well as radio and TV shows on Monday — around “The Last Dance.”
That’s the part that feels most forced and funny. Not comedic funny, but kind of squeamish funny. It’s even a little lazy. But, it’s apparently good for the ratings.
Last week’s second episode largely focused on the rivalry between the Bulls and Detroit Pistons. That morphed into the lingering dislike between Jordan and Pistons standouts Isiah Thomas and Bill Laimbeer.
Worse, that discussion then carried over to “SportsCenter,” with a mini-panel. The next day’s talk-based sports shows, on TV and radio, were all about the rivalry as well. There was a strong focus on how Thomas felt the disagreement kept him off the Dream Team of NBA legends (and Christian Laettner) that played in the Olympics. For his part, Laimbeer embraced the dislike and fanned the sports-talk flames.
Unfortunately, that stuff is two decades old. Two decades. So we’re getting both refreshed takes and revisionist history.
Still, those are the only drawbacks of “The Last Dance.” Without live sports, it’s a welcome bit of competition and context. Had it aired as originally scheduled in June, and amid a world full of sports options, it’s hard to imagine the 10-series event drawing the same ratings and viewership. Or having the same impact.
Draft delivers
Any criticisms about the NFL draft are just nitpicking as the league and its partners once again displayed their prowess in creating and delivering sports-themed TV shows.
Even without the usual silly pageantry and over-the-type hype and tie-ins, the NFL draft delivered.
Viewers got to see draft picks as well as league and team officials at their homes. The technology worked. And the resulting programming seemed comfortable and familiar.
The only problem was ESPN’s insistence on “humanizing” its coverage, which meant more mentions about brushes with the law by draft picks and their families than feel-good context. That’s the way it felt, at least.
A little less of that in the future and a little more of the low-tech approach would go a long way in the future. Unfortunately, it’s a safe bet the NFL will return to an over-the-top approach as soon as possible.
Reworking radio
Even without action on the diamond, field, court, track or wherever, there’s plenty of activity potentially reshaping how sports fans get their information.
Foremost are forthcoming moves at ESPN Radio that could bring Mike Greenberg back to the airwaves.
According to the New York Post, a move by Will Cain from ESPN to Fox News and Fox Nation (he talked politics before moving to sports a few years ago and is apparently headed back) could prompt a series of dominoes that could significantly reshape ESPN Radio.
Along with a Greenberg return, potentially middays after he hosts “Get Up!” (the reformatted TV show that eventually gained traction after its slow start), Dan Le Batard could be on the way out and Trey Wingo, who’s contract expires this year, could be on the move as well.
Whatever happens, it seems likely ESPN Radio’s lineup could be significantly different in a matter of months.
Consistency and familiarity work in radio’s favor, so big changes are not a good thing. And the most important change, if it happens, will be in the morning for a show that airs in hundreds of markets across the country and also sets a tone, of sorts, for all of ESPN each day.
Since its inception, “Golic and Wingo” has been a weaker imitation of its predecessor, “Mike and Mike,” which aired for a decade and a half until Greenberg and Mike Golic parted ways (publicly amicably, but privately not so much). Still, ESPN invests a lot of relevance in the morning show, so what happens with it matters.
Then, just surviving any Le Batard departure would be a challenge in itself. An anti-establishment approach is part of the schtick for the Miami-based sports show that tries hard every day to not be a sports show. Often, though, it’s a reflection of the group’s mindset, and any prolonged departure would not be good for either the network or those involved with the show.
Hopefully, ESPN will get through the process as smoothly and quickly as well.
Masked media
Sorry, but it’s awfully confusing and inconsistent when a national TV news reporter, the CBS News correspondent who covers the White House, for example, does a stand-up report from outside that historic building in Washington, D.C., without wearing a facemask, while local reporters, for the CBS affiliate that serves Centre County, for example, consistently wear them while they’re doing on-air reports.
It just feels and looks silly when the local reporters are alone (except for whomever is behind the camera) and doing a report while wearing a mask.
It’s not logical that the local folks are any more at risk than their counterparts in a major metropolitan market, and there have been no standard recommendations to wear masks when outdoors.
It just seems disingenuous to viewers, who should expect better.
Tuner tidbits
Coverage of KBO, Korea’s professional baseball league, could end up on ESPN as the network works to fill huge ongoing programming holes. The league’s season begins Tuesday.
Happily, 92-year-old baseball broadcasting legend Vin Scully returned home from the hospital after a two-day stay following a fall in his home last week. He’s clearly not ageless, but his work was timeless. Here’s hoping he lives a lot longer.
Tight end Rob Gronkowski’s short-lived broadcasting career ended when he signed to play with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It was a wise decision. He’s much better as football player than he’ll ever be as a broadcaster.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper cleared the way for NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 to run as scheduled May 24, albeit without fans. “We believe that unless health conditions go down, we believe we can hold the Coca-Cola 600.”
In case you missed it, Drew Brees is in as an NFL analyst for NBC once his career ends while Hall of Fame QB Dan Fouts has lost his job once games resume. Charles Davis will replace Fouts on the No. 2 NFL broadcast team for CBS. Brees will play a little more football first, though. He recently signed with the New Orleans Saints for another two seasons.
Tired of sports reruns and have access to Netflix? If so, check out “Battered Bastards of Baseball,” a straightforward sports documentary about a fun minor league baseball team, the Portland Mavericks. The team was owned by Bing Russell, the father of actor Kurt Russell, who was actually a member of that same team in the mid- to late 1970s.
This story was originally published May 3, 2020 at 8:00 AM.