New Year’s Eve 2025: How to Watch the Ball Drop on TV

The 21st Century is heading into its silver anniversary soon, as 2025 is now just days away. After the winter holidays come and go, it will be time to adorn yourself with funky glasses and hats and make all of those resolutions you definitely won’t break before the ball drops.

If you’re not planning to brave the cold for an in-person celebration or test your safety skills with an at-home fireworks display, the safest bet for the midnight countdown is to join all of your favorite on-air personalities for one of the networks’ celeb-studded celebrations.

Here’s a look at all of the options you have for New Year’s Eve TV celebrations this year. 

ABC

Ryan Seacrest will return to emcee the network’s perennial program, Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest. From Times Square, the Wheel of Fortune host will helm the show, with help from Rita Ora, which will also feature musical performances by various artists — including TLC, Carrie Underwood, Megan Moroney, Sophie Ellis-Baxter, Lenny Kravitz, Tinashe, Thomas Rhett, Teddy Swims, Cody Johnson, Alanis Morissette, with special guest Reneé Rapp, Dasha, DJ Cassidy’s Pass The Mic Live! starring Ja Rule, Fat Joe, Slick Rick & Doug E. Fresh, Ernest, HARDY, Kesha, Laufey, Natasha Bedingfield, and T-Pain. Blake Shelton will perform from Las Vegas and Luis Fonsi from Puerto Rico.

CBS

Keith Urban will cohost this year’s edition of New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash for the eye network. The special, which has been running since 2021, will feature performances by various country musicians — including Urban, Kane Brown, and Jelly Roll, among others — from the Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park in Nashville, Tennessee, timed to the Central Time Zone midnight strike. Urban will join returning cohost Rachel Smith. 

CNN

Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen will once again be joining forces to host the cable news network’s New Year’s Eve countdown celebration — and this time, they’ll be allowed to drink adult beverages again after the network put their libations access on hold in 2023. 

NBC

After airing episodes of St. Denis Medical and Night Court, this network’s New Year’s celebrations will begin at 9/8c with Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager hosting A Toast to 2024! Special guests include Reba McEntire, Snoop Dogg, George Lopez, Michael Bublé, Jeff Goldblum, and more. After that, starting at 11:30/10:30c, Seth Meyers will be hosting The Day Drinking With Seth Meyers New Year’s Special, followed by E! News Presents NBC’s Hot 10 of 2024, featuring appearances by appearances by Jimmy Fallon, Dolly Parton, and Andy Cohen, among others. More details available here.