Its terrible that he has his children there to watch. One son looked pretty upset.
I also think its terrible that he does all this praying to God to help him accomplish such a selfish unneccessary act just for the purpose of making money. Using all this praying for greed basically.
I wish they would stop putting this on TV & encouraging him to do more.
And did he not go back to ABC because they made him wear a safety harness when doing the Niagara Falls walk? So he picked Discovery Channel & was allowed to do it without a safety? Ratings anyone?
As long as there's a large enough audience, people willing to tune in, then these events, and others like them, will continue to be on TV. For the station who wins the bid to air it, it definitely is for ratings.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/19/b...ins-bid-to-televise-canyon-crossing.html?_r=0
Nik Wallenda, the daredevil who crossed Niagara Falls on a tightrope last year, will try a similar stunt at the Grand Canyon in June, he announced on Monday.
The cable channel Discovery won the bidding war to televise the stunt, and will show it live and potentially in prime time on June 23, if all goes according to plan.
Discovery was also the exclusive television home of another death-defying stunt, Felix Baumgartners jump from a capsule 24 miles above earth, which took place last fall. The channel is interested in televising more live events, having had success with Mr. Baumgartners free-fall and with several special live editions of Gold Rush and American Chopper.
Discovery apparently bested ABC News in the bidding for Mr. Wallendas Grand Canyon walk. ABC carried the Niagara Falls walk live last June, lifting the network to a rare first-place finish in the ratings. From 10:30 to 11 p.m., when he finished the walk, ABC averaged more than 13 million viewers surpassing even the highest expectations of executives at the network. The walk was also a phenomenon on Twitter and Facebook, where viewers chatted about the stunt as it happened.
But there was some concern within ABC that another tightrope walk would seem repetitive. And maybe more important, the network wasnt willing to pay what Discovery was, according to an executive with direct knowledge of the negotiations who insisted on anonymity. A spokesman for ABC News declined to comment.
A spokeswoman for Discovery also declined to say how much the channel had paid for the exclusive television rights to the Grand Canyon walk. To promote the news, the channel booked Mr. Wallenda on ABCs archrival in the mornings, NBCs Today show. This is a dream of mine, as was Niagara Falls, Mr. Wallenda said on Today on Monday morning.
The telecast of the walk will be produced by Peacock Productions, a unit of NBC that produces series and special events for a wide array of channels.
For Mr. Wallenda, a big issue in the negotiations was the harness that ABC required him to wear while walking over the falls. Discovery will not require him to wear one at the Grand Canyon.
He said on Today on Monday, It was my dream to walk over Niagara Falls since I was about 5 or 6 years old, but part of that dream was taken away because I had to wear that harness. The exciting thing about this event is that I will not be wearing any tether or any safety whatsoever.
In its pitch to Mr. Wallenda, Discovery also emphasized its international footprint. The channel is available in many territories around the world.
Discovery did not specify what time the walk would be televised. But prime time on the East Coast might overlap nicely with sunset at the Grand Canyon. The channel will most likely show the walk live in all time zones, unlike ABC, which was criticized for tape-delaying their Niagara Falls coverage for the West Coast.
Eileen ONeill, the executive who oversees Discovery, said in a statement about the planned event, Discovery Channel continues to bring some of televisions most talked-about and historic live events of the year.
And here's an article regarding some of the ratings:
"Wallenda gets record-setting viewership for Discovery here"
http://blogs.buffalonews.com/talkin...record-setting-viewership-for-cable-here.html
He obviously did this stunt to make money and keep his name/brand out there. People do very dangerous jobs every day for a lot less. His wife obviously knew what she was getting into when she married him. I do feel badly for the kids through.
His wife, Erendira, is a 7th generations circus perfomer. Her family had even performed with the Flying Wallenda's.
http://www.yourobserver.com/news/di...9/Princess-of-the-High-Wire-Erendira-Wallenda
The children do concern me but then again, it's their normal. Generations of their family have grown up in the circus. It's a different type of life.
. However as a non-believer, I'm glad that the video I watched didn't have his mic turned on.
