How to watch the ball fall in a year when the ball fell.
Times Square will unfortunately be closed to the public tonight because of concerns about the coronavirus, marking the first time the place has been empty on New Year’s Eve since 1907.
However, this does not mean that NYE revelers will not have a ball: the iconic orb will still fall at midnight as part of a broadcast event.
How to watch the live stream
The world can witness the annual New York City spectacle at home by tuning in to a six-hour, non-commercial webcast hosted by the official New Year’s Eve co-organizers for Times Square, Times Square Alliance and Countdown Entertainment.
The virtual ball launching ceremony will once again be presented by Jonathan Bennett and will feature performances by Jennifer Lopez, Cyndi Lauper, Jimmie Allen, Machine Gun Kelly, Andra Day, Gloria Gaynor, USO Show Troupe and the Waffle Crew.
Following the precautions of COVID-19, the Times Square 2021 webcast will be banned to the public and will follow New York state health protocols.
The annual event will start at 6 pm and end at 12.15 pm
Viewers can broadcast coverage of the ball’s fall live at TimesSquareNYC.org, NewYearsEve.nyc, Livestream.com/2021, TimesSquareBall.net and via Facebook Live.
Watching on TV
The ceremony will also air on CNN (8 pm), Fox (8 pm to 10 pm), NBC (10 pm), TBS (11 pm to 12:30 pm), Univision (10 pm) and the YouTube TV Originals Hello channel 2021: Americas (from 10:30 pm).
No cable, no problem. Watch the show on Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV or fuboTV and other subscription services.