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You are here: Home / TV / Special TV Events / How To Watch The Ball Drop Without Cable

How To Watch The Ball Drop Without Cable

Published 2022-12-31 By Dennis Restauro

times square 2023 sign

This year is coming to a close, and it’s on to 2023! This article will cover how to watch all the big televised New Years’ celebrations live and celebrate the arrival of 2023. We even cover what to do about the pesky streaming delay we experience with streaming live TV.

Watch The Ball Drop
  • About the Live Streaming Delay
  • How To Watch The New Year 2023 on TV
    • Watch Miley’s New Year’s 2023
    • Watch New Years Rockin’ Eve
    • Watch CNN New Year’s Eve Live
    • Watch Fox News All-American New Year
    • Watch CBS’s Nashville’s Big Bash
  • Watch the Ball Drop Free

About the Live Streaming Delay

Yes, there is a slight delay with streaming live TV. I figured it’s best to cover this issue before getting into how to watch the ball drop for 2023. There is a slight delay to most live streams. The delay averages about 30 seconds, which isn’t much, but if one wants to know the exact second the ball drops, the problem isn’t streaming. It’s physics. There is a slight delay vs. over-the-air signals you receive with a TV antenna, even with cable TV. You can experience this at a sports bar when the game on cable TV is slightly behind that same game airing on a TV using an antenna. If the delay bothers you, you will want to use a TV antenna to watch 2022 end on ABC, NBC, or Fox.

How To Watch The New Year 2023 on TV

There are several televised specials that will ring in the New Year. The most popular are:

  • ABC’s Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest
  • NBC’s Miley Cyrus’s New Year’s Eve Party
  • CBS’s New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash
  • CNN’s New Year’s Eve Live with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen. See how to watch CNN without cable to learn how to watch live.
  • Fox New’s All-American New Year 2023. See How to Watch Fox News without cable to learn how to watch live.

Let’s look at how to watch each without cable

Watch Miley’s New Year’s 2023

NBC’s New Years’ special, Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party hosted by Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton, will air on NBC live on December 31 starting at 10:30 pm Eastern on NBC. For all your viewing options, you can see our write-up on watching guide to watching the Miley Cyrus New Years Countdown or our guide to watching NBC without cable. However, the options that will work for most are:

  • DIRECTV STREAM – has NBC and offers a 5-day free trial
  • YouTube TV – has NBC and offers a 1-week free trial
  • fuboTV – has NBC and offers a 1-week free trial
  • watch NBC over the Air with a TV Antenna

NBC’s New Year event will be hosted by Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton, and it will include performances by Sia, Latto, Rae Sremmurd, Fletcher, and more.

Watch New Years Rockin’ Eve

New Years Rockin’ Eve will air on ABC live on December 31 starting at 8 pm ET on ABC. For all your options, you can see our guide to watching ABC without cable. However, the options that will work for most are:

The celebration will be hosted by Ryan Seacrest in Times Square. Ryan is joined by several familiar faces, including Jessie James Decker and Liza Koshy in Manhattan, Billy Porter in New Orleans, and Ciara in California. Ciara’s L.A. countdown will include pre-taped segments from Disneyland’s 100 Years of Wonder Celebration.

Ciara will be hosting the West Coast celebration airing from LA. You can watch free on any of the following

  • DIRECTV STREAM – has ABC and offers a 5-day free trial
  • fuboTV – has ABC and offers a 1-week free trial
  • YouTube TV – has ABC and offers a 1-week free trial

Watch CNN New Year’s Eve Live

CNN New Year Live will be starting on December 31 at 8 pm ET. We provide all the details on how to watch CNN live in our guide on how to watch CNN without cable. Briefly, you can watch CNN through the following services:

  • DIRECTV STREAM – has CNN and offers a 5-day free trial
  • YouTube TV – has CNN and offers a 1-week free trial
  • Sling TV – You can watch CNN, and the 1st month is 50% off.

CNN’s New Years’ Eve Live will be hosted by Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen in New York with performances by Usher, Ellie Goulding, Patti LaBelle, and more. John Stamos, Kevin Hart, Nick Cannon, and Jack Black will also make appearances.

Watch Fox News All-American New Year

FOX & Friends Weekend’s Will Cain, Rachel Campos-Duffy, and Pete Hegseth will co-host the program live starting at 9 PM/ET. FOX News personalities will join Cain, Campos-Duffy and Hegseth, while country music star Brantley Gilbert performs live from the Wildhorse Saloon. There will also be a standup comedy routine by Failla. You can learn more in our article How to watch Fox News or just watch the special using a free trial to any of the services below that carry Fox News.

  • DIRECTV STREAM – has Fox News and offers a 5-day free trial
  • YouTube TV – has Fox News and offers a 1-week free trial
  • Sling TV – You can watch Fox News and the 1st month is 50% off.

Watch CBS’s Nashville’s Big Bash

The CBS New Years’ countdown is in music city on Friday, December 31, beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET. The hottest superstars of country music return to Nashville to rock out for five hours across multiple downtown locations. Performers this year include Brooks & Dunn, Kelsea Ballerini, Little Big Town, and Zac Brown Band, just to name a few. The show will air from 8:00-10:00 p.m., ET/PT, and 10:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m., ET/PT. You can watch Nashville’s Big Bash on CBS live for free with a trial to any of the following streaming services.

  • Paramount+’s “Premium Plan” – 7-day free trial.
  • DIRECTV STREAM – has CBS and offers a 5-day free trial
  • fuboTV – has CBS and offers a 1-week free trial
  • YouTube TV – has CBS and offers a 1-week free trial

Watch the Ball Drop Free

Of Course, you can watch the 2023 ball drop free with a TV antenna or using DIRECTV STREAM’s 5-day free trial. However, you can also watch the commercial-free live stream of The 2023 Times Square New Year’s Eve ball drop on the web or your mobile device at any of the sources below:

  • TimesSquareNYC.org
  • TimesSquareBall.net
  • on Twitter @TimesSquareNYC
  • on Facebook at Time Square’s NYC page

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Last Updated 2022-12-31

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