You can watch the 2025 Times Square ball drop either on regular TV, via live streams online, or in person in New York City’s Times Square. Most people worldwide use a TV or online stream, since those carry the full concerts and countdown.

TV channels (US)

The main New Year’s specials that show the ball drop live from Times Square include:

  • ABC’s “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest” – the most widely watched special, runs all night and shows the official countdown and ball drop.
  • CNN’s “New Year’s Eve Live” with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen – live from Times Square with the ball drop and crowd shots.
  • CBS and other networks also air New Year’s Eve specials that typically cut live to the ball drop at midnight Eastern Time.

If you have cable or an antenna that gets ABC, CNN, or CBS, you can just tune in shortly before midnight Eastern Time to watch the ball descend.

Streaming and online options

You can watch the ball drop even without cable through official and third‑party streams.

  • Official Times Square webcast : The Times Square organizers host a free, commercial‑free live webcast on their official New Year’s Eve site, usually starting around 6 p.m. Eastern and running through the ball drop.
  • Live TV streaming services : Services that carry ABC or CNN (such as Hulu + Live TV, Fubo, Sling, DirecTV Stream, and similar bundles) will stream the New Year’s shows and the ball drop live.
  • Social platforms : YouTube, Facebook, and X (Twitter) typically host multiple live feeds of Times Square, including official or partner views with different camera angles.

Some sports/entertainment platforms, like ESPN’s app, have also carried Times Square ball drop content or highlight videos, but they are secondary options compared with the main network and official Times Square streams.

Watching in person in NYC

If you want to see the ball drop physically in Times Square, you need to arrive early and be ready for tight security and long waits.

  • Public viewing zones :
    • Viewing usually stretches along Broadway roughly from 43rd Street to 50th Street and along Seventh Avenue up toward the upper 50s, with police-managed pens giving a line of sight toward One Times Square.
* Once you enter a viewing pen, you cannot re‑enter if you leave, so bring what you need and expect to stand for hours in the cold.
  • Indoor / VIP viewing :
    • Many hotels, restaurants, rooftops, and lounges around Times Square sell New Year’s Eve packages with food, drinks, DJs, and direct or partial views of the ball.
* These paid events are popular because they let you warm up indoors and step out or look out windows right before midnight for the drop.

Local New York guides often recommend reserving any indoor or rooftop event well in advance, because these packages sell out quickly as New Year’s Eve approaches.

Time and special 2025 context

  • The ball begins its descent at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time and reaches the bottom exactly at midnight, marking the start of 2026.
  • For 2025–2026, the Times Square celebration has special significance because it kicks off the United States’ 250th anniversary year, with extra patriotic theming and enhanced visuals around the ball.

If you are in another time zone, you can still watch the live Eastern Time broadcast (for example, 9 p.m. on the US West Coast) or find a delayed replay so it lines up with your local midnight.

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