INQUISITR.COM / Entertainment

Watch ‘New Year’s Rockin’ Eve 2016′ Live Online: Start Time, Streaming Video For New Year’s Ball Drop

By Nathan Francis
Published on: 04:00 PST, Dec 31, 2015

Viewers can watch Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve live online and see the ball drop and 2015 turn into 2016 from the comfort of their computer chair.

The broadcast will begin on Thursday at 8 p.m on ABC and runs until 2:13 a.m., with performances and special appearances spread out across the six or so hours.

The show has become one of the most popular events on New Year’s Eve, with Dick Clark spending more than 30 years welcoming in the New Year and prompting thousands of New Year kisses. He hosted the show from 1975 to 2004, then left for two years after suffering a stroke in 2004.

Ryan Seacrest took over that year, and has hosted the show ever since (though Dick Clark did show up to help ring in the new year up until his death in 2012).

As People noted, it was Dick Clark who created the modern show as viewers know it today. The original New Year’s Eve broadcast was hosted by band leader Guy Lombardo, but in the 1970s, Dick Clark came along and modernized it.

“Guy was the only choice for the older generation,” Clark said in an interview. “That’s why we put Rockin’ in the title – 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.”

Within five years, Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve was the top broadcast, and Dick Clark became synonymous with New Year’s Eve ever since.

Those who watch New Year’s Rockin’ Eve live online could see the celebrations take place against a backdrop of heightened security. Federal and local officials have increased security measures in response to the possibility of terrorism threats.

Security officials told Barack Obama about threats originating overseas about possible attacks in three major cities, including New York City, along with Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

It’s not clear how legitimate the threat might be. CNN reported that the threat was uncorroborated and “based on a single source.”

But as CNN noted, New York City and other cities are taking the threat very seriously.

“But in the wake of attacks in Paris, San Bernardino and elsewhere, the FBI is boosting the number of agents and staff in some of its 24-hour command centers around the country, including New York, Washington and Los Angeles. New York City says it will have 6,000 police near Times Square, the biggest such deployment ever. The threat doesn’t mention any specific locations in the three cities. Officials say their areas of concern always focus on so-called soft targets, including large gatherings and mass transit.”

Those who watch Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve live online will see more than just the ball dropping. The show is packed with 38 different performances spread out over five and a half hours, including Luke Bryan, Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth, Demi Lovato, and headliner Carrie Underwood.

There is something for everyone. With performances spread out across the country, the broadcast is able to pull in performers from all different genres. Case in point — at the same time that boy band One Direction and rapper Wiz Khalifa are performing, so too is singer/songwriter Jimmy Buffett. He will be making a life appearance from his concert at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, performing his classic “Margaritaville” as the ball drops to ring in 2016.

Viewers will also see the world premiere of Taylor Swift’s music video, “Out of the Woods,” during the telecast.

Those who want to watch Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve can click here for streaming video through ABC’s website.

[Image via ABC]

Share this article: Watch ‘New Year’s Rockin’ Eve 2016′ Live Online: Start Time, Streaming Video For New Year’s Ball Drop
More from Inquisitr