Apr 20, 2020 - Sports

ESPN's "The Last Dance" documentary breaks viewership records

Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson. Photo: Jeff Haynes/AFP via Getty Images

ESPN's "The Last Dance" documentary on the Chicago Bulls’ 1998 NBA championship run averaged a record-breaking 6.1 million viewers on Sunday night, ESPN said Monday. The first two episodes of the 10-part series aired Sunday across ESPN and ESPN3.

Why it matters: The documentary marked the first time in nearly two months that individual families — and the sports world as a whole — sat down to watch something together.

Be smart: Before "The Last Dance," the highest live audience for a documentary premiere in recent history was "You Don't Know Bo," which received 3.6 million viewers on Dec. 8, 2012.

Top five:

  1. "Last Dance" Part 1: 6.3 million
  2. "Last Dance" Part 2: 5.8 million
  3. "You Don't Know Bo" 3.6 million
  4. "OJ: Made in America" Part 1: 3.4 million (on ABC)
  5. "Fab Five": 2.7 million

What's next: The remaining eight episodes of the 10-part series will air over the next four weeks (two episodes each Sunday).

Go deeper: "The Last Dance" becomes must-watch quarantine TV

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House Democrats pull FISA reauthorization bill

Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

House Democrats pulled legislation Thursday that would have renewed expired domestic surveillance laws and strengthened transparency and privacy protections amid broad opposition from President Trump, House GOP leadership and progressive Democrats.

Why it matters: The failure to reauthorize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) comes as Trump continues to attack the intelligence community, which he claims abused the law to surveil his 2016 campaign and Trump administration officials.

Go deeper (2 min. read)ArrowUpdated 1 min ago - Politics & Policy

U.S. GDP drop revised lower to 5% in the first quarter

Data: Bureau of Economic Analysis; Chart: Axios Visuals

The U.S. economy shrunk by an annualized 5% in the first quarter — 0.2% worse than initially estimated — according to revised figures released by the government on Thursday.

Why it matters: It's the worst quarterly decline since 2008 and shows a huge hit as the economy was just beginning to shut down because of the coronavirus. Economists are bracing for the second quarter's figures to be the worst ever — with some projecting an annualized decline of around 40%.

25 mins ago - Economy & Business

The end of the beginning on energy companies' net-zero carbon pledges

Illustration: Rebecca Zisser/Axios

Activist investors' push to make the world's largest energy companies commit to ambitious climate targets is entering a new phase.

Why it matters: A key thing to watch now is whether and how energy giants start providing more granular information on how to transform the pledges into concrete steps.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow1 hour ago - Energy & Environment