“Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest” rang in 2026 with a ratings bang: 30 million midnight viewers, setting a four-year high for the annual telecast.
The ABC special, which was headlined by prolific performer Diana Ross, tallied up 34 million viewers and peaked with 30 million viewers at midnight, according to Nielsen live-plus-same-day figures.
Catch more of the stats below:
- This year’s telecast was the No. 1 entertainment broadcast special of the night
- The show reached 34 million total viewers across the night, wiht out-of-home viewership not yet available
- iHeart Media’s live audio nationwide broadcast reached 2 million listeners across nearly 150 iHeartRadio stations, a 9% increase from last year
Last year’s special averaged 18 million total viewers and peaked at 21.5 million total viewers at midnight, according to early Nielsen numbers, while the year before tallied up 22.2 million viewers at midnight. With the final numbers, the show ringing in 2025 scored 29 million viewers at midnight.
This year’s show was expanded by an additional hour and a half of programming, marking the annual special’s largest and longest lineup of performances to date.
In addition to Ross, performers for “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” included Ciara, LE SSERAFIM, Little Big Town, Maren Morris, Mariah Carey, AJR, The All-American Rejects, New Kids on the Block, Pitbull, Lil Jon, Filmore, 4 Non Blondes, 50 Cent, BigXthaPlug, Charlie Puth, Chappell Roan, Daddy Yankee, Demi Lovato, DJ Cassidy, Busta Rhymes, T.I., Wyclef Jean, “KPop Demon Hunter” stars EJAE, Audrey Nuna and REI AMI, Jess Glynne, Jessie Murph, 6lack, Jordan Davis, Leon Thomas, Madison Beer, OneRepublic, Post Malone, Rick Springfield, Russell Dickerson, Tucker Wetmore and Zara Larsson.
Additional special guests include the Savannah Bananas, the Party Animals, Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse and Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles, among others.
Like past years, Seacrest was joined by Rita Ora, while Chance the Rapper joined as a co-host to lead the special’s first-ever live central time zone countdown from Chicago. Julianne Hough also made her co-hosting debut alongside Rob Gronkowski in Las Vegas.
Produced by Dick Clark Productions, “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” is executive produced by Seacrest, Michael Dempsey and Barry Adelman.
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