The 2026 Times Square New Year’s Eve ball drop is streaming on multiple platforms, including major TV network apps, live TV streaming services, and free official Times Square feeds.

Main streaming options

  • ABC / “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” : Streams via the ABC app and ABC.com if you have a participating TV provider, and is also available through live TV streamers like YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Fubo, DirecTV Stream, and Sling (in markets that carry ABC).
  • CNN’s New Year’s Eve Live : Airs on CNN and streams via CNN’s apps and its subscription streaming platform, as well as through live TV services that include CNN.
  • CBS / “Nashville’s Big Bash” : Broadcast on CBS and streamable via Paramount+ (with live TV) and most live TV bundles that carry CBS.
  • NBC coverage : NBC’s New Year’s Eve programming (with Times Square cut‑ins) is available on the NBC app, Peacock (in some regions), and on services that carry NBC live.

Ways to watch free online

  • Official Times Square webcast : The Times Square New Year’s Eve website and its official social channels (YouTube, Facebook, and X) provide a free, commercial‑free livestream of the countdown and ball drop starting in the evening and running through midnight.
  • YouTube livestreams : News outlets and partners such as the Associated Press host free “New York ball drop” livestreams on YouTube that show the countdown and the ball as it drops at midnight ET.

If you don’t have cable

  • Use a live TV streaming service (YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Fubo, DirecTV Stream, Sling, etc.) to get ABC, CBS, NBC, and CNN and watch their New Year’s Eve specials.
  • Or skip TV entirely and watch the official Times Square stream or major news livestreams directly on YouTube or social media for a free, no‑login view of the ball drop.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.