Nik Wallenda Chicago skyscraper walk ratings lower than for Grand Canyon

For his Chicago tightrope walk on Sunday night, daredevil Nik Wallenda had to struggle uphill in a light wind. And that was Discovery Channel’s job with the ratings, too.

“Skyscraper Live With Nik Wallenda� - which showed the tightrope walker maneuvering carefully among Chicago towers for two walks, the first one at an uphill angle and the second one blindfolded - delivered an average of just over 6 million total viewers, according to Nielsen.

The two-minute blindfold portion - which happened just after 6 p.m. Los Angeles time - peaked at 6.7 million.

That made it Discovery’s most-watched telecast of the year. But even so, “Skyscraper Live� was quite a comedown, so to speak.

For Wallenda’s June 2013 walk across the Grand Canyon “Skywire Live� - Discovery scored 10.7 million total viewers, with more than 13 million tuning in for the actual walk, which took just under 23 minutes.

One thing Wallenda did not have to contend with last year: the NFL.

On Sunday, his skyscraper walks were competing head-to-head with NBC’s coverage of a Ravens/Steelers game. During the 6 to 6:30 p.m. slot, that game was averaging 18.3 million viewers - taking away a lot of Discovery’s potential audience.

What did you think of Wallenda’s walk?

Twitter: @scottcollinsLAT