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."
ESPN is unveiling another 30-for-30 this Sunday night on Bruce Lee titled "Be Water." It also could encounter a limited audience, given that martial arts does not have widespread appeal and that Lee died in 1973 at the age of 32.
Yet it's another effort to fill the void of no live Major League Baseball, NBA, NHL or PGA transpiring right now, and that has to account for something.
NASCAR produced the first successful attempt at programming other than classic reruns with its iRacing competitions. Those were short-lived successes, however, as the viewership flourished to an impressive 1.34 million on March 29 at a virtual Texas Motor Speedway but dipped to 1.18 million April 5 at a virtual Bristol Motor Speedway and continued to plummet.
"The Last Dance" shattered the previous record for an ESPN documentary, which had been "You Don't Know Bo," a Bo Jackson retrospective in 2012 that averaged 3.6 million viewers. "The Match" on May 24 averaged 5.8 million viewers on TNT and TBS and became the most-watched golf telecast in cable television history, surpassing ESPN's early-round Masters coverage in 2010.
While "Lance" didn't come close to replicating the viewership of "The Last Dance," Zenovich has been praised for delving into Armstrong's background and personal details in a way "The Last Dance" couldn't with Jordan.
"Nothing was off limits with Lance," Zenovich said. "I didn't announce to him that I was going to go talk to his stepfather, but I did it. I've been making films for 25 years, and the best films are the ones that are honest and you talk to as many people as possible when you're trying to explore the world of a man - the good, the bad and the ugly.
"I was thrilled that Lance was willing to let me interview whoever I wanted and whoever was willing to speak to me."
The Indianapolis Star, citing Indiana University doctors, reported last week that Armstrong has done more for the cancer community than any other athlete. He forever will be remembered for winning seven consecutive Tour de France titles and then having all seven taken away for doping.
"I don't find him repugnant," said Zenovich, a recent guest of "Press Row" on Chattanooga's ESPN 105.1 FM. "I find him as someone who did a lot of bad things - the bullying, the lying, the cheating - and went through a lot of therapy for it. He also did a lot for cancer, and I think that's why his story is so compelling."
Even if most sports fans chose to bypass it.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524. Follow him on Twitter @DavidSPaschall.