Watch 2015 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Live Online: Start Time, Streaming Video For Thursday’s Parade
Viewers can watch the 2015 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade live online and catch all the floats, singers, and marching bands from the comfort of their computer chairs.
The parade kicks off at 9 a.m., with NBC covering the broadcast and also offering live-streaming video of the parade online (link can be found below). The parade lasts three hours, with more than 8,000 participants ranging from high school marching bands to dance teams to some of the biggest musicals on Broadway.
There will be plenty for kids, as well, with a number of the popular cartoons and video games represented among the floats.
Don’t miss our Pikachu balloon in this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, US Trainers! https://t.co/STcyXs9B1Q pic.twitter.com/0gAbYXKYCa
— Pokémon (@Pokemon) November 24, 2015
Here are some of the performers viewers will get to see during the three hour parade (via Just Jared): Andra Day, Andy Grammer, Cast of Broadway’s Fiddler on the Roof, Cast of Broadway’s Finding Neverland, Cast of Broadway’s The King & I, Cast of Broadway’s On Your Feet, Cast of Broadway’s School of Rock – The Musical, Cast of Broadway’s Something Rotten, Cast of NBC’s The Wiz Live, Cirque du Soleil, Daughtry, Dove Cameron, Jake Owen, Jennifer Nettles, Jordin Sparks, Mariah Carey, Mercyme, Mipso, Miss America 2016 Betty Cantrell, Panic! at the Disco, Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo, Plain White T’s, Prince, Royce, Rachel Platten, Questlove, Sandra Lee, Shawn Mendes, Sofia Carson, Train, and Trey Songz.
The 2015 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is a boon for fans of musicals, as most of Broadway’s biggest hits will be represented in the festivities.
A brief history of the balloons in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade https://t.co/EL6HjYSL5R pic.twitter.com/5wv8vFFEwm — TIME.com (@TIME) November 25, 2015
As the Wall Street Journal points out, the parade — and its national audience — is a huge opportunity.
“For Broadway shows, the stage set up just outside of Macy’s flagship store hosts one of the year’s most valuable TV appearances. The audience dwarfs that of the Tony Awards, Broadway’s most prestigious night: Last year’s parade broadcast reached about 23 million viewers on NBC, whereas the 2015 Tonys drew 6.7 million, according to data collected by Nielsen.”
Kevin McCollum, producer of Something Rotten, said the entire industry understands just how important Thanksgiving is to reaching a wider audience. The parade will even be opening with a Broadway number, one from the Gloria and Emilio Estefan project, On Your Feet!
Those who watch the 2015 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade live online will see some of the most popular ones Broadway has to offer. Doug Vaughan, vice president for specials and late-night programming at NBC Entertainment, told the Wall Street Journal that producers try to pick the most popular plays or ones with big-name celebrities. They also look for the ones that will show best outdoors, without the traditional lighting and sets that viewers see on Broadway.
It’s not always an easy call, Vaughan said, noting that there is “lots of calls and sometimes hurt feelings. I hate disappointing them.”
Those who want to catch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in person will need to fight through the close to 3.5 million others expected to pack the 2.5-mile stretch of the parade in Manhattan.
The parade starts at 77th Street and Central Park West, continuing down Central Park West and turning onto Central Park South at Columbus Circle. It then continues down Sixth Avenue.
Macy’s has a bit of advice for those looking to go in person, telling them to avoid 6th Avenue between 34th and 38th Street, where the national broadcast will be limiting viewing. The best views will be between 59th and 38th Street, organizers say.
Those who want to watch the 2015 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade live online can click over to NBC.com‘s streaming video.
[Photo by Michael Nagle/Getty Images]
