Thousands of people will pack into Times Square in New York City to watch the ball drop on New Year's Eve. Fortunately, revelers don't have to brave the crowds in Manhattan to witness the iconic moment. The ball drop is broadcast and livestreamed on several New Year's Eve shows and programs.
Here is one way to watch the Times Square ball drop and the New Year's Eve countdown
NBC New York's Times Square Live Stream
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NBC New York is livestreaming the Times Square festivities on its streaming channel. Coverage starts at 7 p.m. ET and lasts until 1 a.m. ET.
It's an uninterrupted live feed with music so you can watch straight through until crews start cleaning up.
You can watch for free in the player below.
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Fun facts about the New Year's Eve ball drop
To impress your guests, here's some fun facts about the famous New Year's Eve tradition, according to the official Times Square website.
- The ball is 12 feet in diameter and weighs 11,875 pounds.
- It's covered in more than 2,600 crystal triangles, with each sparkling pattern representing a different virtue: love, wisdom, happiness, goodwill, harmony, serenity, kindness, wonder, fortitude and imagination.
- The New Year's Eve ball first fell in 1907, welcoming 1908, though Times Square celebrations began at least three years earlier.
- The first ball was made of iron, wood and lightbulbs.
- The ball was lowered every year since except for 1942 and 1943, during the wartime "dimout" of New York City, a method of defense during World War II.
- "Time-balls" precede the Times Square New Year's Eve tradition. Balls have been "dropped" since at least the 1830s at England’s Royal Observatory at Greenwich, where a ball dropped at a set hour every day for captains to set their navigation tools.
TODAY's Maddie Ellis contributed to this story.
