Netflix was king of the world as skyscraper climbing stunt nails it (almost)
“If I was there watching this, I would want to climb the building too.”
This is what my four year-old kid said yesterday afternoon as she was watching the Skyscraper Live event on Netflix. It got me wondering just how many people (kids and adults) are going to find their way into emergency rooms following ill-advised free solo climbs over the coming weeks.
My wife joined us in watching the live broadcast just after climber Alex Honnold passed the 60th floor as he attempted to climb Taipei 101, one of the world’s tallest buildings. She was very concerned that he was going to fall during the stunt. This was something that never entered my mind at all - I just assumed he’d climb it to the top.
But… what if he did fall? Well, we wouldn’t have seen it on Netflix - there was a 10-second delay built into the broadcast for just such an eventuality.
As for the event itself, I have two competing thoughts on how successful it was.
First of all, the actual event itself was fantastic television. The climb started just a few minutes into the broadcast - there wasn’t half an hour or so of anticipation-building (excuse the pun) and video packages about Honnold’s climbing experience. Instead, the show just got to it after a couple of minutes of starting.
And it was hugely compelling to watch. I got to enjoy the ridiculous stunt of it all, while also enjoying watching my young kid getting thoroughly excited about it all. It was certainly more exciting than watching Torville & Dean specials on TV with my parents when I was a kid.
There were some slight annoyances:
The event was the first live Netflix event staged outside of the US. But frustratingly the presenters were all very American, led by new Netflix hire Elle Duncan (formerly of ESPN).
While the production all seemed pretty tight and well thought-through (I mentioned the lack of video packages - we got them, only they were midway through the climb where the activity of the climb was more repetitive and attention was less heightened. That’s good producing), the end of the broadcast was a bit flat and didn’t quite nail the sense of euphoria it should have ended on. Instead of ending the broadcast with an awkward on-air chat with his wife, they should have gotten Honnold out on the ground to be cheered on by the very large crowd that were watching him climb.
I mentioned having a conflicting view on the success of the event…
While the event itself was great and left me wondering what Netflix can do to top this as an idea, the Netflix infrastructure didn’t handle the delay the event faced very well.
I had pressed the button on the Netflix app to remind me when the event was happening. Here in Sydney, Australia, it was set to go live at midday on a Saturday - that’s exactly the time of day where I’m likely to be completely distracted and forget to watch. A push notification would have been great. Through a miracle I did remember to watch, only to be confused when the climb wasn’t on. Bad weather meant they delayed the climb by 24 hours.
But where was the push notification advising me of the delay? Also, I never received a notification for the new broadcast time.
It’s still early days for these sorts of events, but it did make the whole experience more chaotic than it should have been.
Related: Alex Honnold says he was paid very little
Skyscraper Live climber Alex Honnold, who put his life on the line for entertainment as the world watched him climb a really tall building, told the New York Times that he was paid very little to do the climb.
He was paid in the mix-six figure range for the climb, which isn’t nothing and feels in line with the value Netflix extracted from the event. But Honnold puts it into this context:
Actually, if you put it in the context of mainstream sports, it’s an embarrassingly small amount. You know, Major League Baseball players get like $170 million contracts. Like, someone you haven’t even heard of and that nobody cares about.
It didn’t read like he was bitter or complaining. Just a guy who gets how unfair it is from a sports renumeration standpoint.
News Desk
The National Hockey League (NHL) reports that weekly hockey ticket sales have risen more than 20% after Heated Rivalry first aired. Read: Dark Horizons
When Pop Culture Jeopardy! makes the switch to Netflix from Prime Video, host Colin Jost has finally been confirmed as making the jump also. Read: The AV Club
Netflix co-chief Greg Peters says that it plans to keep the HBO commissioning team. But, it doesn’t have firm plans yet on what it will do with HBO Max. Read: THR
Apparently the secret formula to keeping The Tonight Show going in an age of TikTok is just to do stuff they saw people doing on TikTok. Read: THR
Antonio Johri reviews the Netflix House Stranger Things: Escape The Dark experience. His review is highly positive, but he has a real issue with the $49 price tag. Read: Complex
Vimeo is laying off staff following its recent acquisition by Bending Spoons. Read: Business Insider
Streamer Sundance Now has been relaunched by AMC as an algorithm-free destination for curated indue films. Read: World Screen
Trailer Park
Marshals debuts on CBS March 1.
The Muppet Show debuts Feb 4 on Disney+.
Music, comedy, and a whole lot of chaos are bound to ensue when The Muppets once again take the stage of the original Muppet Theatre with their very special guest, Sabrina Carpenter!
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie debuts in cinemas April 1. But, for whatever reason, it doesn’t debut in Japan until April 24. That seems horribly unfair.
Love Me Love Me debuts Feb 13 on Prime Video.
June moves to Italy for a fresh start after her brother's death. At her new elite school, she is drawn to James, a dangerous bully involved in clandestine MMA fights, but begins dating his best friend, Will, the perfect honor student. However, appearances can be deceiving, and June soon discovers that no one at her school is who they seem, as everyone is hiding a secret. As tensions rise and hidden truths come to light, June must decide where her heart truly belongs.
Pavane debuts on Netflix Feb 20.
Three lonely strangers meet at their department store jobs and find solace in each other's company while they explore connection and the nature of love.
That’s the newsletter for the today.
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