How To Watch The Ball Drop Without Cable

The presents are unwrapped, but the lights are still twinkling, and that can only mean one thing: It’s time to count down to a new year, and a new decade. Yes, the roaring ‘20s are almost here (again). While your party plans may be still coming together, do you know how to watch the ball drop in Times Square? 

Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest airs on ABC, with headliners Post Malone, BTS, Sam Hunt, and Alanis Morissette, along with the cast of Broadway's Jagged Little Pill. And, sadly (or maybe not), Jenny McCarthy won’t be kissing her husband, Donnie Wahlberg, on-air this year. Instead, Ciara, Lucy Hale, and Billy Porter will be hosting alongside Seacrest.

New Year’s Eve With Steve Harvey will air on Fox, and Harvey will be sharing the MC duties with co-host Maria Menounos. According to a press release from Fox, the special will include performances from the Chainsmokers, the Lumineers, Florida Georgia Line, Backstreet Boys, Tyga, the Killers, and the Village People, along with an attempt to break the world record for the largest group of people doing the Y.M.C.A. dance.

New Year’s Eve 2020 on NBC will see Carson Daly returning to host, alongside Julianne Hough. The lineup of performers for this year's event also includes X Ambassadors, Brett Eldredge, Ne-Yo, Leslie Odom Jr.,, the Struts, Blake Shelton, and Gwen Stefani. 

New Year’s Eve Live with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen will air on CNN for the second year in a row with Cohen as Cooper’s co-host in Times Square. After 2019 arrives on the East Coast, the network will join CNN anchors Brooke Baldwin and Don Lemon in New Orleans as they count down to midnight.

Most of the shows start at 8 p.m. ET, with the actual ball drop starting around 11:30 p.m. ET. NBC’s countdown show will start at 10 p.m. ET, following a year in review special, A Toast to 2019!,  hosted by Jenna Bush Hager and Hoda Kotb. 

Many streaming services, including Hulu (with live TV package, Sling TV, AT&T TV Now, YouTube TV, and PlayStation Vue are offering streaming coverage of the major networks’ Times Square shows. If you don’t need to watch the celebrations in New York City,  Disney is streaming the New Year's Eve fireworks at its Magic Kingdom park. USA Today is broadcasting events all over the world. And Canadians won't go without, either, as the CBC is airing countdowns across the country on its YouTube channel.
If you don’t subscribe to any services, there are several options that help you watch the ball drop. The Times Square official website has a live webcast, with mobile streaming also available on NewYearsEve.nyc and TimesSquareBall.net. You can also watch on social media via their Facebook and Twitter pages.