New Year's Eve: How to watch the ball drop in Times Square without cable
The New Year's Eve ball drop in Times Square is as synonymous with the holiday as a kiss at midnight or a glass of Champagne. Even if you're not one of the two million spectators expected to pack into the crowded streets of New York City's Times Square on Monday night, you can still be part of the festivities at home by tuning in – with or without cable.
How to watch the New Year's Eve ball drop at home without cable
You can still watch the ball drop in the comfort of your own home, even if you're a cable cord-cutter. Internet-based television providers, like FuboTV or Hulu, will be streaming all of America's best-loved New Year's eve programming. (You can get a free trial of FuboTV.) Here's what to watch:
Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest
Network: ABC
Start time: 8 p.m. EST
What to know: Ryan Seacrest hosts, joined by Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg for ABC's 47th annual New Year's Eve show. The five-and-a-half-hour show will include celebrity appearances, performances and reports from celebrations around the world.
Countdown to 2018
Network: CBSN
Start time: 11 p.m. EST
What to know: CBS News' streaming network will be airing a selection of the year's biggest, most unforgettable stories as well as live New Year's celebrations around the world. As midnight approaches, CBSN will bring you a live feed from Times Square to see the ball drop.
NBC's New Year's Eve
Network: NBC
Start time: 10 p.m. EST
What to know: In New York City, Carson Daly will count down to the New Year with co-hosts Chrissy Teigen and SNL's Leslie Jones. They'll also be joined by Keith Urban in Tennessee who will be performing as well as hosting the Jack Daniel's Music City Midnight: New Year's Eve from Nashville's Bicentennial State Park.
New Year's Eve Live with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen
Network: CNN
Start time: 8 p.m. EST
What to know: Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen will team up for the second year in a row to ring in the New Year live from Times Square. After 2019 arrives on the East Coast, the network will join CNN anchors Brooke Baldwin and Don Lemon in New Orleans as they count down to midnight in the Big Easy.
Fox's New Year Eve With Steve Harvey: Live From Times Square
Network: FOX local stations
Start time: 8 p.m. EST
What to know: With co-host Maria Menounos, Steve Harvey will host a star-studded program with performances from Sting, Robin Thicke, Florence + the Machine and Jason Aldean. The show will break at 10 p.m. but resume at 11 p.m. for the midnight countdown.
What year was the first New Year's Eve ball drop?
The first ball drop celebration in Times Square was on December 31, 1907, to welcome the year 1908. The ball was made by immigrant metal worker Jacob Starr, who fashioned a 700-pound iron and wood creation lit by a hundred 25-watt light bulbs.
Since then, increasingly elaborate balls have been lowered every year with the exceptions of 1942 and 1943, when the tradition was suspended due to World War II.
What does this year's New Year's Eve ball look like?
On Thursday, workers began installing this year's ball, a 12,000-pound sculpture designed by Waterford, the crystal company, CBS New York reported. The creation is made up of 192 crystal triangles and sparkles with 2,500 individual crystal pieces, which will be illuminated by multicolored LED lights.
The theme of this year's New Year's Eve ball is "the gift harmony," said Tom Brennan, a master artisan for Waterford.
"So when I think of harmony on an individual personal basis, it's all about having that equilibrium of mind, of body, of soul," he said. "If you've got that going on at the same time, you've got everything just ready for you, and you're ready to take on the world."
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