Skyscraper Live viewers savage Netflix’s ‘awful’ commentary during Alex Honnold’s record-breaking free climb

Netflix viewers have eviscerated the “distracting” and “pointless” commentary delivered during the live stream of Alex Honnold’s record-breaking free climb of Taipei 101, one of the tallest skyscrapers on Earth.

While nervous Skyscraper Live viewers watched the nail-biting stunt on Saturday night (January 24), they admitted to being distracted by the punditry delivered by its panel, made up of WWE star Seth Rollins, veteran sports anchor Elle Duncan and professional rock climber and mountaineer Emily Harrington.

Much of the commentary featured live reactions from Rollins, who spent the majority of the stream — like viewers at home — in disbelief and shock at Honnold’s risk-taking ascent of the 1,667-foot-high tower.

But viewers said the commentators continuously talked over Honnold when he was speaking into his in-ear headset during the climb, and added little professional insight.

The comments section under Netflix’s Instagram posts during the event was filled with pleas from viewers to “have the announcers be quiet” and “stop talking” as they couldn’t hear Honnold.

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“Respectfully, can the commentators take a break and not talk as much? They’re talking over Alex and I want to hear. Thanks!” said one person.

One viewer branded the punditry as “dreadful”, adding: “The commentators absolutely RUINED the experience of watching this live. Their ‘insights’ were pointless and beyond annoying.”

Another person wrote: “The announcers are talking way too much, it’s really impacting the experience for people watching live & they’re talking over any time Alex speaks through his microphone. This seems like an obvious miss. The climb is awesome… the commentary is what is making me suffer.”

Honnold, the 40-year-old American rock climber known for his Oscar-winning documentary Free Solo, took 1 hour and 31 minutes to complete the hair-raising stunt as his wife and thousands of fans watched from the Taiwan capital.

One viewer praised the programme as a “great show” but said they couldn’t understand why the hosting panel wasn’t made up of professional climbers.

“I think just having the one commentator, Emily, who is knowledgeable about climbing, would have been perfect,” reasoned another. “The other two are unfortunately grossly taking away from the viewing experience. Can't get a moment of silence to experience his climb.”

“I'm sorry, but this commentary is terrible,” said another viewer. “The incessant and, above all, often completely meaningless chatter (about 20 times in the first seven minutes, ‘Wow, I can't look at that’) takes away from the overall impression. You don't get to feel the incredible tension of free solo climbing at all. So, sorry, but the commentary is a disaster.” The Independent has contacted Netflix for comment.

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Built in 2004, Taipei 101 features mostly glass curtain walls, with balconies near the top that taper to a pointed peak, a design inspired by the ridges on a stick of bamboo. It was once the world’s tallest building until the construction of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa in 2010.

Honnold made history as the first to climb the skyscraper with no ropes or safety gear. French urban climber Alain Robert had previously scaled the building in 2004, but with ropes.

Skyscraper Live was due to air on Netflix on Friday (January 23), but the special was postponed by 24 hours due to wet weather conditions in Taipei that would have made the climb even more dangerous.

Honnold has said he hopes his achievement will inspire others to chase their goals.

“I think that people often find the inspiration that they need to pursue their own challenges or their own goals,” he said. “It’s often the kick they need to do whatever it is that they want to do in their life.”