Discovery’s coverage of Nik Wallenda‘s high-wire walk across a Grand Canyon chasm averaged 8.5 million total viewers on Sunday evening, with 13 million laying witness to the daredevil’s actual 22-minute trek.
All told, it stands (heh) as the cabler’s high-rated special since spring 2000′s Walking with Dinosaurs and Raising the Mammoth, and its No. 3 special of all time.
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Leading out of that, Naked and Afraid’s debut held onto 4.2 mil, making it the cabler’s No. 2 series premiere ever, trailing only 2012′s Amish Mafia.
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The Season 6 finale of Mad Men on AMC, meanwhile, drew 2.7 million viewers — the show’s most-watched closer to date. (The Season 5 climax drew 2.6 million viewers).
Over on Lifetime, Drop Dead Diva returned to 2.2 million total viewers, down just a smidge from its year-ago opener but dropping 21 percent from its Season 4/almost series finale. Leading out of that, Marc Cherry’s Devious Maids swept up 2 million total viewers, with 826K landing in the 18-49 sweet spot — a bit below The Client List’s Season 2 opener but on par with its latest finale.
