Why This Matters: ABC and cable networks are using non-sports live events to draw viewers inside when the weather's nice.
When Nik Wallenda steps onto the high wire 25 stories above Times Square on ABC June 23, it represents yet another live special, as networks increasingly aim to corral viewers to tune in for day-and-date programming. Wallenda aims to walk 1,300 feet on the wire, with his sister, Lijana, starting from the opposite end and the siblings crossing mid-wire.
Acrobat Nik Wallenda
ABC is doubling down, in the words of Rob Mills, senior VP, alternative series, specials and late night, on live events. That includes last month's Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear's All in the Family and The Jeffersons special, and perhaps a live musical.
Our network doesn't have the NFL, Mills said. These become our NFL.
A number of networks are set to run bold live events. The same night the Wallendas traipse above Times Square, National Geographic Channel kicks off four-night Yellowstone Live, with the national park coming to life after a long winter, and a range of animals doing their thing. Evel Live 2 airs on History July 7, with fearless motocross athletes attempting harrowing stunts.
First Responders Live, a Dick Wolf show offering a peek at first responders as they answer emergency calls across the country, debuted on Fox June 12, and A&E ordered 10 additional episodes of Live PD spinoff Live Rescue, also offering a close-up of emergency responders, bringing the season-one total to 19 episodes.
Live programs are mostly DVR-proof and eminently social media-friendly, network executives say. Eli Lehrer, History executive VP and head of programming, mentions the immediacy they bring and the excitement they generate for viewers. There's an urgency to watch right now you don't want to miss it.
High-Flying Wallendas
In 1928, the Great Wallendas performed in Madison Square Garden, and Nik Wallenda said he will pay homage to that performance nearly a century after it happened. There's something alluring about New York, he said.
Adding intrigue to Highwire Live in Times Square with Nik Wallenda is Lijana, who will step onto the high wire for the first time since a 2017 incident where she fell 30 feet from one.
Executive producer Mark Bracco said watching such an event on the day after does not do it justice. If you are not watching live, you miss something amazing that happens in the moment, he said. And you just can't experience something like that in the same way if you watch it the next day.
Dick Clark Productions is producing the event. Wallenda previously did high-wire stunts over Niagara Falls in 2012, which ABC News produced, and the Grand Canyon in 2013, which aired on Discovery. Mills cites Evel Knievel stunts that used to air on Wide World of Sports in saying that Wallenda is right at home on ABC. It fits into the heritage of the network, he said.
Evel Genius
Evel Live 2 will be filmed at the San Bernardino International Airport in California. Travis Pastrana did motorcycle stunts in Live 1, and co-hosts this summer, leaving the daredevil stuff to Vicki Golden and Axell Hodges. Golden will speed through a series of flaming boards, and Hodges plans to soar over two dozen trucks to break a record Knievel set in 1971. Later, he'll aim to set the record for motorcycle jump distance, which stands at nearly 380 feet.
Evel Live 1 reached 14.5 million total viewers in live plus seven ratings, according to History, and 3.5 million in live plus same day. Lehrer called it an incredible success for us.
He promises bigger stuff in this summer's three-hour special. We learned a tremendous amount from a TV standpoint, he said, in terms of how to produce a live event.
Park and Rec
Yellowstone Live is co-hosted by Josh Elliott and Chris Packham, with Jenna Wolfe the roving reporter. The event takes place across Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. The 25 cameras capturing the action include a Burrow Cam, showing prairie dogs underground, and Bison Cam, affixed to the massive mammal. Yellowstone After Dark deploys thermal cameras to showcase the animal action at night.
Geoff Daniels, executive VP of global unscripted entertainment at National Geographic, promises a bigger and bolder event than last year's. We cover a bigger area, and have the ability to cover so many more intimate animal stories, he said.
Social Grace
Daniels also promises a social media takeover for Yellowstone Live, and social is a giant part of what makes the live specials right for 2019. For its part, Evel Live had 103,000 social interactions last year, said History, citing Nielsen, far and away the most social program for the network last year, according to Lehrer.
While live events have their risks, whether it's foul weather, flubbed lines or a motorcycle malfunction, executives said they are keen to bring more to their network. It's certainly a space we're always looking at, Lehrer said, noting that a couple are in development at History.
ABC may do a live musical as soon as in the fall, Mills said, likely something from the Disney library. It also plans to turn the Lear live special into an annual event.
National Geographic will depart Yellowstone Park to tackle Alaska Live next summer. One of the beauties of live is, it's a communal experience, Daniels said. It's in the moment and it's unpredictable. You saw it first you didn't hear about it.
Why This Matters: ABC and cable networks are using non-sports live events to draw viewers inside when the weather's nice.
When Nik Wallenda steps onto the high wire 25 stories above Times Square on ABC June 23, it represents yet another live special, as networks increasingly aim to corral viewers to tune in for day-and-date programming. Wallenda
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Zixi, a leader in live video delivery and workflow orchestration, and Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) today announced a strategic new integration to deliver ...
16/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Cameras Capture Immersive Flight for New Cirrus App
Brie Clayton July 15, 2026
0 Comments
Leader in Personal Aviation taps URSA Cin...
16/07/2026
XenData Announces LTO Archive Appliances with both File and S3 Object Storage In...
15/07/2026
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is a big deal for DAZN, which has distribution rights in three markets: Italy, Spain, and Japan. Each requires a different editorial app...
15/07/2026
As sports-media organizations manage rapidly growing content libraries and incre...
15/07/2026
HBS director of digital Johannes Franken talks SVG Europe through the operation built to serve FIFA World Cup 2026 rights holders remotely from Stratford, east ...
15/07/2026
IBC has unveiled the conference program for IBC2026, with this year's event ...
15/07/2026
Software-defined wideband RF platform supports 96-kHz monitoring, streamlined fr...
15/07/2026
New AI-powered module enables broadcasters and content owners to extract dialogu...
15/07/2026
Weeklong gathering at EBU headquarters will test new IPMX capabilities and expand certified product ecosystem...
15/07/2026
Force Tech has announced the appointment of Bryan Adams, CTS, as Vice President of Integration. Adams will oversee AV and broadcast integration project delivery...
15/07/2026
USA Sports has announced an exclusive English-language agreement with the Bundes...
15/07/2026
ITV Sport's FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage has been produced from one of the m...
15/07/2026
Program will provide professional camera kits, training, and technical support to participating local newsrooms...
15/07/2026
San Francisco church becomes first U.S. deployment of the 2 M/E production switcher...
15/07/2026
Former ESPN and NFL Network executive to advise startup league on media, distribution, technology, and fan engagement...
15/07/2026
The Houston-based RSN is the live-game home of the Astros and Rockets...
15/07/2026
Launched alongside new FreqSoft installer
Designed to bridge the gap between hardware and software, Freqport's FreqInOut FO1 unit provides a simple way ...
15/07/2026
Save up to 55% on software until 23 July 2026
Expressive E have just launched their Summer Offer sale, with discounts of up to 55% now applied across their ...
15/07/2026
Real-time stem-separation tool updated
zplane have recently released a new and improved version of their real-time stem-separation plug-in which they say ma...
15/07/2026
A new benchmark in bass enhancement
Described as a new benchmark in bass enhancement , Baby Audio's latest release has been designed to augment the lo...
15/07/2026
DMC Production's AR 1 and AR 2 units reverse the conventional OB workflow, keeping all production-critical processing at the venue while operators work remo...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
GigaCloud, a leading Ukrainian cloud service provider, and Cubbit, the first geo-distributed cloud storage enabler, today announced a new Business Alliance Part...
15/07/2026
SMPTE, the global society for media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has announced the launch of the SMPTE 110th Anniversary Campaign, a fundraising...
15/07/2026
Studio Technologies, a leading manufacturer of high-quality audio, video, and fiber-optic solutions, unveils the new StudioComm Model 762 Stereo Level Control, ...
15/07/2026
COW Jobs: Producer, Virtual Events - Hybrid, Full Time, Salaried
Brie Clayton July 15, 2026
0 Comments
Producer, Virtual Events (Hybrid | Full-time | ...
15/07/2026
Brazilian media organization builds nationwide CDN with Broadpeak's high-performance software for low-latency streaming and new content distribution service...
15/07/2026
DHD announces a new utility designed to increase the efficiency of its audio mixing systems during initial installation and subsequent configuration.
Anyone w...
15/07/2026
BCNEXXT Brings Next-Generation Vipe to IBC2026, Breaking the 1:1 Channel-to-Server Ratio New innovations liberate broadcasters from legacy playout infrastructur...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
General-purpose robots and autonomous machines are moving from research labs to ...
15/07/2026
Wednesday 15 July 2026
Screeners and press pack now available: Gomorrah: The Or...
15/07/2026
Trinity's Treasures features Ruth Negga, Eleanor McEvoy, and David Norris, a...
15/07/2026
Join geographer Dr Susan Hegarty, Engineer Tim Joyce and Architect Orla Murphy a...
15/07/2026
Home to leading manufacturers, robotics pioneers, infrastructure builders and iconic gaming companies, of course, Japan is one of the world's centers of AI ...
14/07/2026
South end zone videoboard, cloud-based control system will be ready for 2026 football season...
14/07/2026
Redesigned website, enhanced mobile app unify content, ticketing, and personalized fan engagement...
Why This Matters: ABC and cable networks are using non-sports live events to draw viewers inside when the weather's nice.
