The many ways to watch Times Square's NYE ball drop, and who's performing on which channel
Everyone knows there's no one right way to ring in the new year. Some opt for hitting the town, maybe checking out some live music or supporting local live comedy. Others will choose to hang back at home, ringing in 2024 from the comfort of the couch and watching the iconic New Year's Eve ball drop from Times Square.
If you fall in the latter category, here's everything to know about the century-old New Year's Eve special, including where on TV you can tune in as the clock ticks toward Jan. 1, 2024.
Who's performing at the 2024 Times Square ball rrop?
Lots of A-list performers will rock Times Square to help ring in the New Year as part of both ABC's "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve With Ryan Seacrest 2024" and CNN's "New Year's Eve Live With Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen."
ABC's New Year's Eve coverage, co-hosted by Ryan Seacrest and Rita Ora, will feature performances by Megan Thee Stallion, Jelly Roll, Sabrina Carpenter and Tyla.
CNN's coverage, co-hosted by Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen, will include musical performances from Enrique Iglesias, Maroon 5, Jonas Brothers, Flo Rida, Miranda Lambert, Darius Rucker and Rod Stewart.
Those wanting to kick off 2024 country-style can tune in to CBS's "New Year's Eve Live: Nashville's Big Bash" co-hosted by Grammy-nominated artist Elle King and Entertainment Tonight's Rachel Smith. Blake Shelton, Trace Adkins and Morgan Wallen are among the performers slated to take the stage in Nashville.
Where to watch the New Year's Eve ball drop on TV
Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve With Ryan Seacrest will air on ABC at 8 p.m. on Dec. 31, and can also be watched via ABC Live and the ABC app on most devices. ABC's coverage can be streamed as part of Hulu's Live TV Bundle.
New Year's Eve Live With Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen will air on CNN at 8 p.m. the same night. The show can be streamed live on CNN Max and via CNN.com.
New Year's Eve Live: Nashville's Big Bash will air on CBS at 7:30 p.m. Viewers can stream the show on Paramount+, but only those with Paramount+ with Showtime subscriptions can stream the show live.
Times Square is hosting its own New Year's Eve 2024 Webcast starting at 6 p.m. on Dec. 31. Two feeds will be available to stream online: a closed caption webcast and an open caption webcast with American Sign Language (ASL) interpretations. Viewers can tune in at timessquarenyc.org.
History of Times Square's New Year's Eve ball
Believe it or not, the New Year's Eve ball drop is more than a century old. The first New Year's Eve ball – made of iron and wood and decorated with 25-watt light bulbs – made its premiere descent in 1907. The spectacle was built by Jacob Starr, a young immigrant metalworker.
The ball has been lowered every year since, with the exceptions of 1942 and 1943, when the ceremony was canceled during New York City's wartime "dimout" of lights. After Starr's initial invention, seven different versions of the ball have been designed as part of the celebration – including a 400-pound wrought iron ball in 1920, a 155-pound aluminum ball in 1955 and a crystal ball in 2000.
Today's contemporary ball weighs a whopping 11,875 pounds and is adorned with 2,688 crystal triangles bolted to 672 LED modules. In total, the ball is lit up with 32,256 LED lights.
Though the ball has evolved over the decades, people have been congregating in Times Square since the very first ball drop to drink, be merry and celebrate with loved ones – and they continue to do so today.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Times Square New Year's Eve 2024 ball drop: Where to watch, performers
