Netflix Expands Live Sports Portfolio with Alex Honnold’s Skyscraper Climb

By: Evan Upatham

February 16, 2026

Photo Credit: Netflix

In the time it takes you to sit through a lecture, Alex Honnold climbed one of the tallest buildings on Earth. On January 25, Honnold scaled Taipei 101, a 1,667-foot skyscraper, without ropes or safety gear in just over 90 minutes. The climb was broadcast on Netflix in a special titled Skyscraper Live. However, the live stream wasn’t Honnold’s first time on camera. In 2017, he became the first climber to free-solo El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. That climb was filmed by National Geographic and released as Free Solo, which went on to win numerous accolades, including Best Documentary Feature at the 2019 Academy Awards. The film grossed $28.6 million worldwide, placing it among the top 50 grossing documentary films of all time. 

While Honnold has become known worldwide through Free Solo, the Netflix broadcast brought him directly into millions of living rooms in real time. Skyscraper Live drew 6.2 million viewers over opening weekend and ranked as Netflix’s third most-watched TV program during the week of January 19. According to The New York Times, Honnold is expected to be paid in the “mid-six figures,” roughly $500,000, an amount he jokingly described as “embarrassing.” Nonetheless, Honnold has said he would have climbed Taipei 101 for free. Even so, that figure falls below the minimum salary in each of the four major North American professional sports leagues. Skyscraper Live aired as an uninterrupted, commercial-free broadcast. Brand exposure only came through Honnold himself, who wore a red North Face shirt and used a Black Diamond chalk bag, both longtime sponsors of his.

For a niche sport like free solo climbing, these viewership numbers are significant. They suggest that when high risk is paired with an established global subscriber base, even nontraditional sports can attract mass audiences. That same shock-driven appeal dominates modern media, with content creators like MrBeast building massive followings by leaning into spectacle. In fact, MrBeast even tweeted that he would have paid Honnold more than Netflix did to attempt the climb on his YouTube channel.

The success of Skyscraper Live fits into a much larger strategic shift for Netflix. The world's number one streaming service has steadily expanded its sports portfolio, broadcasting NFL Christmas Day games, major boxing events, and WWE programming, and securing exclusive rights to stream the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2027 and 2031. Still, Netflix isn’t trying to become the next ESPN. Rather than trying to buy the rights to entire sports seasons, Netflix has focused on streaming big, one-off moments that create urgency and appointment viewing. These are events viewers feel they have to tune into live, rather than record, because the moment loses its impact once it’s over. By leaning into must-watch programming like Skyscraper Live, Netflix is continuing to redefine live sports content while becoming a one-stop-shop for whatever viewers please.