Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve Hits 22M Viewers as Ball Drop Excites!

Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest experienced a decrease in viewers this year compared to last, yet it still emerged as the top-viewed New Year’s Eve television event as 2024 was welcomed.

The beloved yearly show on ABC attracted an average of 7.9 million viewers during its primetime slot from 8 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. EST, marking a 6% drop from the previous year’s 8.4 million viewers. The viewership spiked significantly for the late-night segment, which coincides with the Times Square ball drop, pulling in an average of 17.9 million viewers from 11:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., maintaining the audience level from the 2023 festivities.

The audience peaked at 22 million viewers during the midnight quarter-hour as the New Year officially began with the iconic ball drop.

As the evening progressed, viewership numbers steadily climbed, starting with approximately 6.2 million viewers during the 8 to 10 p.m. window. The audience size increased to 9.5 million from 10 to 11:30 p.m., and nearly doubled in the final hour leading up to midnight.

New Year’s Rockin’ Eve dominated the competition by a significant margin. In comparison, CBS’s New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash was the second most-watched show with 4.9 million viewers from 8 to 10 p.m. Its late-night segment saw an increase to 6.9 million viewers.

NBC’s Day Drinking with Seth Meyers New Year’s Eve special secured the third spot among network broadcasts, drawing approximately 1.5 million viewers from 11:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.

CNN’s coverage, featuring Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen, likely attracted a respectable viewership with its mix of New Year’s Eve celebrations and celebrity interviews including Diplo and Ralph Fiennes. Specific viewership figures for the cable network weren’t immediately available but will be updated as they come in.

Dick Clark Productions, which produces the show, is part of Penske Media, the same company that owns Deadline.