Expect to see plenty more daredevil stunts in primetime after ABC’s “Megastunts: Highwire Over Niagara Falls” special drew a huge audience on Friday (June 15) night.
The three-hour programming block surrounding Nik Wallenda’s highwire crossing of Niagara Falls averaged 8.66 million viewers on Friday and delivered a 2.1 rating among adults 18-49. It was ABC’s most-watched Friday since 2007.
The numbers became even more impressive for the stunt itself. Following a one-hour pre-stunt countdown, the two-hour “Megastunts: Highwire Over Niagara Falls” averaged 10.1 million viewers and a 2.5 key demo rating, making it ABC’s biggest audience in the time period since 2006.
In its final hour, in fact, “Megastunts” drew 13.1 million viewers and a 3.4 rating among adults 18-49, pretty much guaranteeing more megastunts to come.
Led by repeats, CBS was second overall for Friday night with 4.59 million viewers, while “Dateline” carried NBC to second play among adults 18-49 with a 1.0 rating.