Though the O.J. Simpson trial dominated American media more than 20 years ago, the case seems as popular on TV today as it ever was.
FX’s O.J. Simpson miniseries, “American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson,” has been one of the surprise hits of the TV season, averaging 3.38 million viewers through eight episodes (live + same day). Esquire Network ran a 12-hour marathon of trial highlights April 3, two days before FX’s series finale.
“The People v. O.J. Simpson”is the most viewed new show in FX history. The show’s high-water mark was its premiere, which averaged more than 5 million viewers live plus same day; its lowest mark was Episode 5, which averaged a still impressive 2.718 million. Underscoring how important time-shifting is to drama series like this, the show’s live plus 7-day viewership figure more than doubles in six out of the first seven episodes.
| EPISODE |
PREMIERE DATE |
DUR. |
LIVE+ SAME DAY |
LIVE+7 |
INCREASE fROM L+SD TO L+7 |
| 1 |
Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016 |
81 |
5,111 |
8,968 |
75% |
| 2 |
Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2016 |
62 |
3,888 |
8,259 |
112% |
| 3 |
Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016 |
63 |
3,331 |
7,603 |
128% |
| 4 |
Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016 |
77 |
2,988 |
7,153 |
139% |
| 5 |
Tuesday, March 1, 2016 |
76 |
2,718 |
6,998 |
157% |
| 6 |
Tuesday, March 8, 2016 |
71 |
3,002 |
7,030 |
134% |
| 7 |
Tuesday, March 15, 2016 |
62 |
2,884 |
6,772 |
135% |
| 8 |
Tuesday, March 22, 2016 |
61 |
2,911 |
n/a |
n/a |
| 9 |
Tuesday, March 29, 2016 |
71 |
2,759 |
n/a |
n/a |
| 10 |
Tuesday, April 5, 2016 |
93 |
3,268 |
n/a |
n/a |
Source: Austin Karp, SportsBusiness Daily
Plus, the O.J. series I’m most looking forward to watching — ESPN’s “30 for 30” documentary — launches June 11 on ABC. The 10-hour, five-part series wraps up on ESPN June 18.
Connor Schell, ESPN senior vice president and executive producer, first decided to devote a “30 for 30” to Simpson 2 1/2 years ago and convinced Ezra Edelman to direct it. Edelman wound up conducting 72 interviews, 66 of which are in the film. I haven’t seen the film yet, but those who have swear by it, with Schell going so far as to call it “the best thing we’ve ever done.”
“Ezra goes four hours before you get to the murder,” Schell said. “That gives you a real understanding of this man’s life and what that life was like in the context of all these things going on in America at the time. It’s stunning.”
Edelman acknowledged that he hasn’t watched the FX miniseries and expressed some frustration at the rush of Simpson-related programming that was developed after ESPN commissioned its film.
“I’m just working so hard to do this, then halfway through the process I found out that someone’s doing 10 hours,” he said. “No one’s done anything, now, all of a sudden, someone’s doing this? I just can’t engage with it. Until I feel secure about the place of our film in the world, maybe I’ll get to a point where I’ll be able to enjoy it like everyone else for what it is.
“I don’t want this to sound like sour grapes because I hear good things about it,” Edelman said. “I’ll watch it, but not before our film is out there."
