How To Watch The Ball Drop Without Cable

Once again, we’re hoping the new year is better, so let’s get on to 2022! This article will cover how to watch all the big televised New Years’ celebrations live and celebrate the arrival of 2022. We even cover what to do about the pesky streaming delay we experience with streaming live TV.

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 2022. 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 2021 end on ABC, NBC, or Fox.

How To Watch The New Year 2022 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 New Year’s Eve 2022
• CNN’s New Year’s Eve Live with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen
• Fox’s New Year’s Eve Toast & Roast (Cancelled)

Let’s look at how to watch each without cable

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, which will again have very limited crowd numbers due to the pandemic. The show will feature Billy Porter as co-host from New Orleans, who will also perform, as well as New York performances by LL Cool J, Chlöe, Journey, Karol G, and a major lineup of performances, streamed from Los Angeles and even Puerto Rico.

Ciara will be hosting the West Coast celebration airing from LA.

• 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 $10.

CNN’s New Years’ Eve Live will be hosted by Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen in New York, with co-hosts and guests from across the country, including Don Lemon, Alisyn Camerota, and Dulce Sloan. Performances include headliner Katy Perry live from Las Vegas, William Shatner, Patti LaBelle, Earth, Wind & Fire, Duran Duran, Amanda Gorman, Patti LuPone, David Arquette, Leslie Jordan, Cheri Oteri, and many more.

Watch NBC’s New Years 2022

NBC’s New Years’ special, Miley’s New Year’s Eve Paty hosted by Miley Cyrus and Pete Davidson, will air on NBC live on December 31 starting at 9:30 pm Eastern on NBC. For all your viewing options, you can see 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 Pete Davidson, and it will include performances by Brandi Carlile, Billie Joe Armstrong, Saweetie, Anitta, Jack Harlow, 24kGoldn, and Kitty Ca$h.

Fox New Years Eve Roast and Toast – Cancelled

UPDATE: Typically, Fox holds an annual “Roast and Toast;” however, due to spiking Covid-19 numbers, the special live event has been canceled.

Watch the Ball Drop Free

Of Course, you can watch the 2022 ball drop free with a TV antenna or using AT&T TV’s 5-day free trial. However, you can also watch the commercial-free live stream of The 2022 Times Square New Years Eve ball drop on the web or your mobile device at any of the sources below:

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