Archive · 3 Jan 2026
New Year's Rockin' Eve Sees 35% Viewer Increase
Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve had a lot of people watching this year.
At midnight, 30 million people tuned in, which is a big jump from last year.
Even the shows before and after midnight had more viewers than last year.
The late-night part had almost 19 million viewers, and the very late show had more than 8 million, which is almost double what it was last year.
It seems like more people are enjoying this New Year’s tradition on TV.
Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve had 30 million viewers at midnight ET on ABC, a 35.1% increase from last year.
The late-night edition from 11:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. averaged 18.8 million viewers, slightly up from 2025.
Primetime viewership from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. was 7.03 million, a 12% increase over last year.
Viewership grew to 10.59 million from 10:30 to 11:30 p.m. ET, slightly higher than 2025's 9.31 million.
The late-late-night special from 12:30 a.m. to 1:51 a.m. had 8.25 million viewers, nearly double last year's 4.45 million.
- Who
- Viewers of Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve on ABC
- What
- A 35.1% increase in viewership at midnight ET compared to last year
- When
- On New Year's Eve 2025, with data from early 2026
- Where
- United States, broadcast on ABC
- Why
- The special celebrated the new year with increased viewership across different time slots
- Viewers at midnight ET
- 30 million
- Year-over-year increase
- 35.1%
- Late-night edition viewers
- 18.8 million
- Primetime viewers (8-10 p.m.)
- 7.03 million
- Primetime increase
- 12%
- Late-late-night viewers (12:30-1:51 a.m.)
- 8.25 million
- Late-late-night increase
- Nearly double last year's 4.45 million