'Flying' Felix Baumgartner’s Jump Pulls Daytime Ratings Record for Discovery

12:18 PM PDT 10/16/2012 by Michael O'Connell

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After YouTube scores 8 million simultaneous views for the 24-mile free-fall, the cable network sets a record with an average audience of 4.21 million.

European Skydiver Draws Global Web, TV Audience

YouTube

Felix Baumgartner, who set the new world record for highest skydive on Sunday afternoon when he dropped 24 miles from the stratosphere, is also responsible for a new feat in ratings.

Millions Watch as Felix Baumgartner Makes Record-Breaking Space Jump

Discovery Channel's live coverage of the event, Space Jump Live, hit a new network record for non-primetime programming. The seven-hour Discovery News special devoted to the jump pulled in an average 4.21 million viewers to the network. It also won the adults 25-54 demo (2.02 rating) across over all of TV for all of the day's non-primetime and non-sports broadcasts -- though one could argue that the extreme athlete's stunt counts as sports.

The cumulative score for Discovery's Space Jump coverage is a whopping 7.6 million total viewers.

And Baumgartner's jump fared even better elsewhere. The Red-Bull-sponsored event streamed on YouTube, at one point reaching north of eight million simultaneous views.