Wallenda TV exec: Contingency plans in case of failure

30-Oct-14 – The danger of Nik Wallenda’s high-wire stunt just three days away is not lost on the television executives who will broadcast the event live to 220 countries.

According to the company producing the 140-minute show for Discovery Channel, there are contingency plans in case Wallenda falls.

Speaking with the entertainment trade magazine Variety, Sharon Scott, president and general manager of Peacock Productions, said protocols have been worked out for the hosts of the program to follow in case Wallenda “loses contact” with the wire.

“We are documenting what he does,” Scott (left) told Variety. “In the worst-case scenario, we just want to make it palatable for the viewer, and hopefully say something eloquent enough for them to understand that we were simply fulfilling his dream. It’s a great television event, there’s no question, but it’s incredibly dangerous.”

Scott says there is also a plan in case Wallenda decides the stunt must be rescheduled.

In any case, there will be a ten-second delay between what happens live and what Discovery Channel viewers see.

On April 18, an avalanche on Mount Everest killed 16 Nepalese guides, including four who were working for Discovery Channel. They were preparing for a two-hour live event during which a mountain climber would leap from Everest and fly in a special “wing suit.” Discovery Channel cancelled that program and instead aired a documentary about the tragedy.

 Previous story: Five interesting facts about Wallenda walk from a Discovery VP