There are some things in life that are a certainty — death, taxes, new seasons of Survivor. Another is Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin’ Eve. Even after Dick Clark died of a heart attack in 2012 at the age of 82, the show went on. Ryan Seacrest has taken over hosting duties (the man doesn't sleep), and the New Year's Eve institution is alive and kicking. But how do you stream Dick Clark's New Year’s Rockin’ Eve 2017 and join in on the festivities if you don't have a television? Cable or not, you just have to see that ball drop.
We now see New Year's Rockin' Eve as a Dec. 31 must-have, but it actually took the place of a bigger predecessor. According to People, Clark created the show as a younger counterpart to big band leader Guy Lombardo’s New Year’s Eve shows. Clark thought that Lombardo’s shtick was for older audiences, and he saw an opportunity to get the kids excited about watching television as a new year came in.
“That’s why we put Rockin’ in the title,” Clark said in an interview quoted by People and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “To let everybody know this was going to be a different approach. It wasn’t the Waldorf-Astoria with the people dancing cheek-to-jowl in their tuxedos and funny hats.” It started in 1975 (hosted by the band Three Dog Night, not Clark), and it only took five years for New Year’s Rockin’ Eve to beat the competition.
This year, Mariah Carey will be giving the last big performance of 2016 before the ball drops. Before Carey, expect performances by DNCE, Gloria Estefan and the cast of On Your Feet, and Thomas Rhett. Jenny McCarthy and Fergie are also back to help Seacrest with hosting duties from both coasts, along with 200,000 of your closest friends crowded into the streets of Times Square. Fun fact, according to the show’s profile — Carey was the first artist to perform live in Times Square on the show in 2005! It definitely makes sense that she would come back to honor the 45th anniversary of New Year's Rockin' Eve.
If you’re in a home without a television or going to a party at a friend’s who refuses to get cable already, streaming New Year’s Rockin’ Eve is pretty easy. ABC.go.com offers a live stream of all the network's programming, as long as you login with a cable subscription and live in a participating city. You can also download the ABC app (for free) to watch it live on a different device. If you don't live in one of the select places, look into any apps or live streams offered through your own cable provider — many allow you to live stream TV to multiple devices.
The New Year's Rockin' Eve festivities start at 8 p.m. ET on New Year’s Eve and go through the wee hours of the morning and I think the ability to stream it is a testament to the forward-thinking nature Clark had when he created the show. Clark, who knew from American Bandstand that young people loved watching music on television, wanted to make a New Year’s Eve special for the younger set, and it was wildly successful.
Today’s generation seems to favor streaming over traditional broadcast viewing, and New Year's Rockin' Eve is still reaching that young audience as their viewing methods evolve. Now, no matter if you have a television or not, you and yours can watch that big Times Square ball drop from the comfort of your own home. Happy New Year!
