Annual New Year’s Eve TV Coverage Canceled After Many Years

If you’re planning to ring in the new year by flipping over to NBC, you may be wondering whether the network will show the iconic Times Square ball drop. The short answer is no, as NBC once again isn’t airing the live countdown. Instead, they’re opting for their own New Year’s Eve special featuring familiar faces, celebrity guests, and a look back at the year that was.

Does NBC Air a Live Ball Drop?

The answer: NO! NBC has gone back and forth between airing the live ball drop and not airing it over the years.

The network used to incorporate the ball drop into “The Tonight Show,” with Jay Leno hosting at times. “The Voice” host Carson Daly joined the network and brought with him his own New Year’s Eve celebration from MTV.

“New Year’s Eve with Carson Daly” premiered for New Year’s Eve 2004-05 as an hour-long special airing at 10 p.m. ET/PT. However, after good ratings, the show moved to an 11:35 p.m. ET/PT timeslot and started broadcasting from Times Square, officially replacing “The Tonight Show” as NBC’s New Year’s special.

The show changed co-hosts and names over the years, before it bowed out as “NBC’s New Year’s Eve” with the 2020-21 edition.

From there, Miley Cyrus hosted “Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party” for the 2021-22 edition, which aired from Miami. NBC brought Miley back for the 2022-23 edition, with co-host Dolly Parton.

NBC then shifted in 2023-24, instead deciding to air a “Sunday Night Football” game between the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings.

They went back to New Year’s Eve programming for 2024-25, with “A Toast to 2024” co-hosted by Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager and “The Day Drinking with Seth Meyers New Year’s Special” airing that night.

For this year’s NYE special, NBC first announced Snoop Dogg would host his own party in Miami. Instead, because of scheduling conflicts, that special was cancelled. In its place, NBC will bring back Hoda and Jenna, as they co-host “A Toast to 2025!”

‘A Toast to 2025!’ Lineup

While they won’t broadcast the ball drop from Times Square, NBC announced they will be ringing in the new year with Hoda and Jenna. “A Toast to 2025!” will be hosted by the real-life besties. The two-hour special airs on December 31 at 10:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

The duo will shine a spotlight on some of the most memorable moments of 2025. They will also be spending some time with some of their closest friends — all 46 of them.

Here are the guest celebrities who will be making an appearance on “A Toast to 2025!”:

• Blayne Alexander
• Andrea Canning
• Dylan Dreyer
• Willie Geist
• Savannah Guthrie
• Lester Holt
• Tom Llamas
• Josh Mankiewicz
• Craig Melvin
• Keith Morrison
• Al Roker
• Maria Taylor
• Lindsey Vonn
• Johnny Weir
• Matt Iseman & Akbar Gbajabiamila (“American Ninja Warrior”)
• Howie Mandel (“America’s Got Talent”)
• David Alan Grier (“St. Denis Medical”)
• Belissa Escobedo (“Happy’s Place”)
• Melissa Roxburgh & Sara Garcia (“The Hunting Party”)
• Josh McKenzie & Patrick Sabongui (“The Hunting Party”)
• Kristin Chenoweth & Jenn Lyon (“Stumble”)
• Chris Hardwick (“The Wall”)
• Jabari Banks (“Bel-Air”)
• Amaya Espinal & Ariana Madix (“Love Island USA”)
• Tom Daley (“The Celebrity Traitors UK”)
• Chris Sullivan (“Devil in Disguise”)
• Chelsea Frei (“The Paper”)
• Tiffany Haddish (“Tiffany Haddish Goes Off”)
• Ethan Slater (“Wicked: For Good”)
• Brian Baumgartner (“The Office”)
• Jim Gaffigan
• Lil Rel Howery
• Nate Jackson
• Carson Kressley
• Loni Love
• Chris Mann
• Bobby Moynihan (“Saturday Night Live”)
• Tom Papa
• Rob Riggle
• Wanda Sykes

“A Toast to 2025!” airs on Wednesday, December 31, at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.

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