About 5.8 million people watched Skyscraper Live with Nik Wallenda on TV on average during the live broadcast in the United States, with peak viewership reaching about 6.7 million during the blindfolded portion of the walk.

Quick Scoop

What was Skyscraper Live?

  • Skyscraper Live was a live TV special featuring high-wire walker Nik Wallenda crossing between Chicago skyscrapers on a tightrope, including a blindfolded segment.
  • It aired on Discovery Channel and was carried in over 200 countries, making it a major global stunt broadcast.

How many people watched?

In the U.S. (the only place with clear, reported numbers):

  • Average live audience: about 5.82 million total viewers.
  • Peak audience: about 6.72 million viewers during the blindfold section.
  • It became Discovery Channel’s most-watched live telecast of 2014 and one of its most-watched broadcasts since 2010 (aside from Wallenda’s earlier Skywire Live special).

Because the event aired in more than 200 countries, the global total audience would be higher, but detailed worldwide numbers have not been publicly broken down, so any exact global figure would be speculation.

Ratings snapshot (U.S.)

Here’s a compact view of the U.S. TV performance:

Metric Figure
Average U.S. viewers ≈ 5.82 million
Peak U.S. viewers (blindfold segment) ≈ 6.72 million
Demo rating (ages 25–54) 2.17 average
Network milestone Discovery’s highest- rated live telecast of 2014
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Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.