Wallenda Wire Walk Scores in Canada Too

By Chris Ariens 

In addition to giving ABC its best Friday night in five years, “Megastunts: Highwire Over Niagara Falls” also scored on the other side of the Falls, in Canada.

Canadian broadcaster CTV, which simulcast the ABC News production hosted by Josh Elliott and Hannah Storm, averaged 3.9 million viewers making the 2-hour special the #1 non-sports summer special ever in Canada. The ABC logo was kept in the lower right of the screen throughout, while the CTV logo was in the upper right.

Nik Wallenda’s high wire walk from the U.S. to Canada over Niagara Falls, was the third most-watched non-sports special in Canada this TV season, behind the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards. The special peaked at 6.8 million viewers in the last half hour. By comparison, 13.1 million U.S. viewers watched the last half hour on ABC.

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In Toronto alone, the high wire act attracted an incredible 20.8 rating and a 50.4% share, meaning one out of every two people watching television in Toronto was watching the special on CTV.

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