‘Skyscraper Live’ by Alex Honnold surpasses 6 million views on Netflix

Skyscraper Live, the live broadcast of climber Alex Honnold, managed to capture the attention of millions of viewers worldwide. The special, which showed the renowned athlete performing a rope-free climb (free solo) up one of the tallest skyscrapers on the planet, reached 6.2 million views on Netflix and was positioned as one of the most-watched content of the week on the platform. The climb took place at the Taipei 101 tower in Taiwan, an emblematic building that for years held the title of being the tallest in the world. The event was originally scheduled to be broadcast live on Friday, January 23, but weather conditions forced it to be postponed to the following night.

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Due to the time difference, the delay meant that in Taiwan the climb went from Saturday morning to Sunday morning. This change significantly reduced the time margin to accumulate audience within Netflix’s weekly measurement period.

Despite having only one day —from Saturday night to Sunday night— to accumulate views within the ranking of January 19 to 25, Skyscraper Live managed to rank third in the Top 10 series and programs in English.

The result was considered remarkable, especially considering it was a live, high-risk event, in an unusual format for the platform.

In an interview given to Variety after completing the feat, Alex Honnold explained that neither the height nor the weather conditions were the main stress factor during the day. “Climbing is always at the mercy of nature”, he stated.

According to the athlete, his entire career has been conditioned by variables such as heat, cold, wind, or rain. “That’s not what made it different,” he pointed out, highlighting that what was truly stressful was the pressure of being a live broadcast.

As if that weren’t enough, the mountaineer confessed that the possibility of postponing the event caused him concern due to the logistical impact it would have on the technical team.

You can also read: “I was thinking about the number of people involved, the flights that had to be changed and the hotels that had to be reorganized,” he explained. That tension, more than the physical challenge, made the difference with other climbs in his career. In Netflix’s weekly ranking, the top two spots were again for His & Hers, which topped the list with 17.2 million views, and Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials, which took second place with 8.7 million. Behind Skyscraper Live, other notable titles included Finding Her Edge in fourth place with 5.5 million views. Bert Kreischer’s scripted comedy, Free Bert, debuted in the Top 10 in eighth place with 3.2 million. Regarding the ranking of English-language films, The Rip, starring Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, held the top spot for the second consecutive week. The film registered 40.4 million views, a slight decrease from the 41.6 million obtained in its first three days on the platform.