"If Wallenda wanted to walk across Niagara Falls without a tether, then he should have financed the entire exercise on his own.   ABC, as a sponsor, did not have any interest in televising a person plunging to his death. Since they were putting up the money, they could dictate the rules of the game.   Incidentally, I saw an excellent response to a comment elsewhere about the width of the cable: "You try it."" - John E. Bredehoft