There's no more traditional way to kick off a new year than tuning into the Tournament of Roses Parade. And with the annual New Year's Day Parade currently airing on multiple channels today (Jan. 1), it's easier than every to find a Rose Parade live stream to watch.
Today's installment is the 131st annual Rose Parade. It will feature more than 40 floats making their way down Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, Calif., joined by marching bands and equestrian groups. It's all a way to celebrate the Rose Bowl game later that day between Oregon and Wisconsin, one of many college football games you can steam on New Year's Day. But if it's the parade you want to watch, here's how to track down a live stream of today's Rose Parade.
When can I watch the 2020 Rose Parade?
Coverage of the Rose Parade got underway at 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT from Pasadena on New Year's Day. And you don't have to search too hard to find the parade TV, as the Tournament of Roses has half-a-dozen broadcast partners lined up, each with their own telecast.
Both ABC and NBC are airing the parade, meaning all you need is a TV and an HDTV antenna to catch either network broadcast. You'll find a Spanish language telecast of the parade on Univision. Two cable channels — the Hallmark Channel and RFD TV — will broadcast the parade as well.
Los Angeles-area television station KTLA covers the parade as well, with that broadcast usually syndicated out to other channels in other cities across the U.S. If you can find that broadcast on a local channel in your area, we'd suggest watching KTLA's coverage — it's usually commercial-free, so you don't miss a moment of the parade. (You can watch KTLA's live stream on YouTube.)
Is Amazon Prime streaming the 2020 Rose Parade?
The past two years, Amazon Prime has carried an alternative feed of the Rose Parade featuring Will Ferrell and Molly Shannon handling announcing duties. Ferrell and Shannon called the parade in character as Cord Hosenbeck and Tish Cattigan, a pair of cheerfully cheesy announcers.
While the 2019 broadcast is still available on Amazon Prime, it seems like Cord and Tish won't be back for a third year. Funny Or Die, which produces the mock-broadcast told the Pasadena Star News it won't be back for the 2020 edition of the parade. So you're stuck with the options outlined above.
How can I use a VPN to live stream the 2020 Rose Parade?
If you happen to be out of the country when the calendar flips to 2020 and the Rose Parade begins, you can still tune in from abroad. A virtual private network, or VPN, can disguise where you're surfing the web, giving you the same access to the streaming services you'd enjoy at home.
Of all the services we've tested to find the best VPN overall, we think that ExpressVPN is the best choice. It performed well in our testing, and we found its customer support to be extremely helpful. You can also get a low monthly price if you sign up for annual service.
How can I live stream the 2020 Rose Parade?
If you can't be near a TV when the Rose Parade is taking place, you do have some streaming options at your disposal, though you may need a cable subscription to take advantage of some of the more direct choices.
Both ABC and NBC live stream broadcasts from their respective websites. But both networks require you to sign in with your cable TV provider, which blocks cord cutters from taking advantage of that option.
Instead, you can turn to a subscription streaming service that carries any of the channels broadcasting the Rose Parade. That's a bit of a challenge, though, for two reasons. First, not every streaming service carries local channels in every market. (Sling, for example, only offers NBC and ABC in select cities). Second, Hallmark Channel is included in a limited number of packages offered by various streaming services.
Still, you do have a few options if you want to live stream the 2020 Rose Parade. Here are your best choices.
