Austrian skydiver Baumgartner hits live streaming record

PanARMENIAN.Net - Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner smashed a number of records with his "edge of space" stunt - including for live streaming, according to BBC News.

More than 8 million people flocked to their devices to watch the 43-year-old break the speed of sound live on Google's YouTube site.

It is the largest number of concurrent live streams in the website's history, Google UK confirmed.

Baumgartner also broke the record for the highest freefall. He jumped from a capsule taken to 128,100ft (24 miles; 39km) above New Mexico in the U.S. by a giant helium balloon. It took nine minutes for him to reach the ground.

The adventurer plummeted at an estimated 833.9mph (1,343km/h), hitting Mach 1.24.

"On the step, I felt that the whole world is watching," Baumgartner said after the jump. "I said I wish they would see what I see. It was amazing."

The capsule from which the skydiver fell was equipped with cameras to provide a live internet feed to millions of people around the world.

A Google spokesperson said that the number of viewers simultaneously watching the Red Bull Stratos stunt live on YouTube was the site's highest.

"We congratulate Felix Baumgartner and the entire Red Bull Stratos team for their successful mission, and for creating a live stream with the most concurrent views ever on YouTube," the company said on its blog.

In comparison, about 8.3m people accessed the BBC's sport website on the first day of this year's Olympic Games.