The coronavirus outbreak in March immediately changed the viewing landscape for sports fans.
During the weeks that have ensued, there were ratings smashes such as ESPN’s “30-for-30” documentary on NBA legend Michael Jordan and “The Match” on Turner Sports, which featured Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning topping Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady in a golfing challenge. There also have been ratings flops, with the most recent example being ESPN’s “Lance” documentary on cyclist Lance Armstrong that aired the past two Sunday nights.
On the heels of Jason Hehir’s “The Last Dance” 10-hour documentary on Jordan that averaged a whopping 5.6 million viewers over five weeks, Marina Zenovich’s “Lance” failed to average 860,000 viewers.
“Cycling is a niche sport,” Zenovich said. “The people who are into it are really into it, but it’s not football or basketball or your typical American sport. Lance is also very polarizing, and some people can see him more than just in black and white, and some people can’t.
“They’re too angered by what he did, which makes sense, and it’s been fascinating to see how people reacted differently to what he did. Some people won’t forgive him ever.”