We Control the Horizontal!
What do you think might be more challenging? Creating magic for TV or live stage?
After creating magic for TV shows such as Wizard Wars on Syfy, The Carbonaro Effect and most recently Cake Wars I can say they both have their own challenges.
Something that has to be performed live has to be bullet proof. You don’t get a retake. On the other side of the coin, the camera is an unblinking eye that is fairly impossible to misdirect the attention of. (Those watching, that’s another matter) On the upside you can keep doing it until you get it right. Sometimes a bad trick can be saved in editing (so long as the magical moment is preserved and not lost or altered).
So the answer to the question is they are both challenging but for different reasons. Here is a short clip from the aforementioned Cake Wars.