YOUTUBE: As Baumgartner ascended in the balloon, so did the number of viewers watching YouTube's live stream of the event. Its popularity grew as the moment of the jump drew closer, as people shared links on Twitter and Facebook, and websites embedded the stream.
Nearly 7.3 million viewers were watching as Baumgartner sat on the edge of the capsule, moments before the jump, which officials said made him the first sky diver to fall faster than the speed of sound.
In the U.S., the opportunity to watch the jump on TV was limited to the Discovery Channel, though more than 40 TV networks in 50 countries carried the live feed, organizers said. It was streamed by more than 130 digital outlets.