The live stream followed the professional climber’s historic trek atop one of the world’s tallest structures in the world
Netflix’s “Skycraper Live” went off without a hitch, as professional rock climber Alex Honnold successfully climbed one of the tallest buildings in the world without ropes or a safety net.
He conquered the unprecedented climb in under two hours as a global audience watched with bated breath. The streamer played host to the live-streamed spectacle Saturday, following a one-day postponement due to weather conditions in Taipei, home of the 101-story, 1,700 feet long building known as Taipei 101.
Honnold, who was the subject of the Oscar-winning climbing documentary “Free Solo,” said in interviews prior to the climb that his “life was on the line” in attempting this mission. But studying the building gave him the confidence to pursue this lifelong dream.
“The geometry of the building, the shape of the building is such that you actually could fall in tons of places and not actually die,” Honnold told CNN, “which makes it in some ways safer than a lot of rock-climbing objectives.”
Watch the moment he completed the climb below:
Honnold was mic’d up throughout the progression of his climb, which kicked off at 5:11 p.m. PT, 9:11 a.m. Taipei time. His wife Sanni McCandless Honnold was by his side until he started, with a crew capturing her reactions and checking with him at various points during the ascent. She was also there at the top to celebrate alongside him when he finished.
The live event featured commentary from Netflix anchor Elle Duncan, WWE superstar Seth Rollins and climbing expert Emily Harrington. The delay to Saturday turned the show into counterprogramming for a portion of the premiere of UFC’s streaming partnership with Paramount+.
Hundreds gathered in person to see the event from images captured by the live stream, while people inside the building also interacted with Honnold as he climbed by their windows. Some Netflix users complained about a glitch during the live stream, or expressed their anxiety of watching him attempt this challenge for live television.
“This is a nightmare for most people,” Rollins said at one point during the telecast, which was filled with references to the anxiety surrounding this extreme climb.
Chronicling Honnold’s achievement marks another ambitious title for the platform’s growing live programming slate, an expansion of its offering as the company solidifies its top spot among streamers and now fights for engagement time against YouTube.
Netflix instituted a 10-second time delay on the broadcast in the event something went wrong — a commonplace feature for live telecasts. The live stream also kicked off with a public safety announcement denouncing amateurs from trying this at home.
“The following show features professional climbers with extensive training. Viewers should not attempt to recreate or re-enact any activity performed in this show. Climbing buildings without obtaining permissions is illegal and violates trespassing and public safety laws.”
“Skyscraper Live” is available to stream on Netflix.
