How To Watch 'Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve' Live for Free: Ring in 2026 With KPop Demon Hunters, Diana Ross, & More

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If you’re looking to ring in the New Year with the star-studded lineup at Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve 2026, you’ll want to know the best places to watch the show for free this year.

Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve 2026 airs on ABC starting at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday, December 31, with the show wrapping up at 4 a.m. As always, the ball drops in New York City’s Times Square right at midnight. The broadcast, which begins in New York but also travels through Chicago, Las Vegas, and Puerto Rico, will stream on Hulu the next day. But if you don’t have cable, there are also plenty of ways to stream it live.

Related story Who Is Performing at New Year's Rockin' Eve 2026? The Full List of Performers & Schedule

How To Watch Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve Live for Free

Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve airs on ABC, which is available to stream for free on services like DirecTV Stream and Fubo if you sign up for a free trial. You can also get ABC on Hulu+ With Live TV and Sling TV.

DirecTV Stream offers a five-day free trial, and starts at $89.99 per month after the trial ends (with $10 off your first three months). Fubo offers a seven-day free trial and starts at $84.99 per month after the trial ends.

While Hulu+ With Live TV has a three-day free trial, it is an easy upgrade if you’re already a Hulu user.

Sling TV does not have a free trial option, but with 1-day passes available for $4.99 and plans starting from $29.99, it is the cheapest option on our list. However, ABC availability depends on your location, so please make sure it’s available in your market before choosing a Sling TV plan.

DirecTV is our best overall pick to watch Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve because of its free trial option, its price, and its wide channel selection.

DirecTV Stream offers a five-day free trial and offers three plans: Entertainment, which costs $89.99 per month; Choice, which costs $94.99 per month; and Ultimate, which costs $124.99 per month. ABC, which broadcasts Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, is available with all three plans.

What are the differences between the plans? Entertainment includes more than 90 channels, the ability to stream on unlimited devices in your home, unlimited cloud DVR storage, and a special offer on premium channels. Choice includes more than 125 channels, regional sports networks, and everything included in Entertainment. Ultimate includes more than 160 channels and everything included in Entertainment and Choice.

How to watch Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with DirecTV Stream’s free trial:

Fubo is our best free trial pick to watch Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve live for free because it offers a seven-day free trial (two days longer than DirecTV Stream).

Fubo offers three plans: Pro, which costs $84.99 per month, Elite, which costs $94.99 per month, and Latino, which costs $14.99 per month. ABC, which broadcasts Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, is included in the Pro and Elite plans.

What is the difference between Fubo’s plans? Pro includes 180 channels, 1,000 hours of Cloud DVR, and the ability to watch on up to 10 screens at once. Elite includes everything in Pro, and a total of 256 channels and 4K resolution. Fubo’s Latino plan offers Spanish-language TV at $14.99 per month.

How to watch Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Fubo’s free trial: 

Sling TV is our best budget pick because of its range of low-price offers. Sling TV offers a 1 Day Pass ($4.99), a 3 Day Pass ($9.99), and a 7 Day Pass ($14.99). Just note that ABC is only available for select markets with these passes.

ABC is also available in select regions with Sling TV’s Select plan, which costs $29.99 per month for over 10 channels.

Sling TV’s other plans include Sling Orange (which comes with 30 networks), Sling Blue (which comes with 40 networks), and Sling Orange + Blue (which allows you to combine all networks).

How to watch Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Sling TV: 

Hulu+ With Live TV is our best upgrade pick to watch Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve based on its channel selection and its free subscriptions to Hulu, Disney Plus, and ESPN Plus. Hulu+ With Live TV offers four plans: a $89.99 per month ad-supported plan, which gets you Hulu + Live TV (with ads, access to 95+ channels, unlimited DVR, Disney+ (with ads), ESPN Select (with ads), and Hulu (with ads). An ad-free plan costs $99.99 per month, which offers Hulu (no ads), Disney+ (no ads), and ESPN Select (with ads) alongside Live TV.

How to watch Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Hulu+ With Live TV: 

Who’s Performing at Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve?

Diana Ross will headline Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, and will be joined at the Times Square stage with performances from Ciara, LE SSERAFIM, Little Big Town, and Maren Morris.

See here for a full list of performers from broadcasts in Las Vegas, the West Coast, Chicago, and Puerto Rico.

Who Is Hosting New Year’s Rockin’ Eve?

Ryan Seacrest will host the main event in Times Square alongside co-host Rita Ora. Chance the Rapper will lead Chicago’s first Central Time countdown. Rob Gronkowski and Julianne Hough will host from Las Vegas, and Roselyn Sanchez is back as a co-host, live from Puerto Rico.