Climber Alex Honnold with the Taipei 101 skyscraper in the distance.
Netflix/Corey Rich
Free solo climber Alex Honnold is about to risk his life by scaling the Taipei 101 — one of the world’s tallest buildings — on Netflix this week.
Netflix, of course, has expanded its live event coverage over the past few years, from streaming Mike Tyson’s return to the boxing ring in a highly touted match against Jake Paul to beginning a new holiday sports tradition with NFL Christmas Gameday matchups.
Honnold’s free solo climb, however, is quite literally taking Netflix’s livestream endeavors to new heights when the veteran rock climber with more than 30 years of experience sets his sights on ascending the 1,667-foot-tall (508 meters) skyscraper without the aid of ropes or safety nets.
Skyscraper Live is set to begin streaming live on Netflix on Friday, Jan. 23, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
For viewers who don’t subscribe to Netflix, the platform offers an ad-based package for $7.99 per month for streaming on two supported devices, an ad-free package for $17.99 per month for streaming on two supported devices.
In addition, Netflix has an ad-free package for $24.99 per month for streaming on four supported devices with 4K Ultra HD programming.
Alex Honnold Says He Could Potentially Survive A Fall During The Skyscraper Live Climb
While it appears on the outset that Alex Honnold would face certain death by falling at any point from the Taipei 101, the free solo climber said the unique structure of the building offers him chances of survival that he would not have during a rock climb.
“If something happens, I would die — though actually, on this particular building, that’s not even totally true because there are balconies every few floors,” Honnold told Deadline in an interview posted on Sunday.
“The geometry of the building, the shape of the building is such that you actually could fall in tons of places and not actually die, which makes it in some ways safer than a lot of rock-climbing objectives,” he added.
Assessing his chances of surviving the Taipei 101 climb, Honnold told Deadline, “I feel like it’s going to be fine.”
Skyscraper Live will feature five analysts during Honnold’s climb, per Netflix’s Tudum, including Netflix lead sports anchor Elle Duncan, professional climber Emily Harrington, engineer Mark Rober, WWE superstar Seth Rollins and renowned climber and climbing commentator Pete Woods.
Skyscraper Live will stream live on Netflix on Friday at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/timlammers/2026/01/19/when-does-skyscraper-live-free-solo-climb-begin-on-netflix-this-week/
