Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade 2021: Time, Channel and How to Watch
The 95th annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is almost here! After the 2020 parade nixed live spectators and reduced the crowd size due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the parade is coming back bigger and better, officially returning to "its full form" to help kickoff the holiday season. Thankfully for those unable to make it to New York City for the annual Thanksgiving Day event, watching the 2021 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade — and maybe even catching another reunion between Al Roker and the "Butter Man" — from home is easier than ever.
The three-hour broadcast, hosted by Roker, Savannah Guthrie, and Hoda Kotb, begins at 9 a.m. in every time zone on NBC and ends at noon. Telemundo will simulcast the parade in Spanish, with the broadcast hosted by En Casa con Telemundo's Ana Jurka and Carlos Adyan, accompanied by Freddy Lomelí. The parade will also be streamed on NBC's website and on the NBC app, but you'll need a TV provider to get access. NBC will air an encore of the parade from 2-5 p.m. ET.
Cord-cutters will also have plenty of options for tuning in. For the first time, fans will be able to livestream coverage on Peacock, which you can subscribe to by clicking here. Those without cable can also watch the parade via streaming services that offer NBC as part of their bundles, including Hulu+ Live TV, available here, and YouTube TV. Both of those latter streaming services offer free trial periods, meaning you can sign up for the trial and then cancel your subscription after watching the annual Thanksgiving Day festivities.
This year's weather is set to make for a perfect setting, with meteorologists predicting sunny skies and low winds as 15 giant character balloons, 28 floats, more than 800 clowns, 10 marching bands, nine performance groups, and Santa Clause make their way from West 77th Street and Central Park West to Macy's flagship store in Herald Square. While viewers can expect to see some common sightings, this year's parade will see six new balloons hovering over the streets of New York City, with Ada Twist, Scientist by Netflix; Baby Yoda (aka Grogu) from Dinsey+'s The Mandalorian; Ronald McDonald; and Pikachu and Eevee from Pokémon joining the lineup.
The 2021 parade also features a star-studded lineup of performers, including Carrie Underwood, the K-pop group Aespa, Jimmie Allen, Kristin Chenoweth, Darren Criss, Busy Philipps, the cast of Peacock's Girls5eva (Sara Bareilles, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Paula Pell, Busy Philipps), Mickey Guyton, and the cast of Sesame Street, among many others. Fans can watch the day's events in full when the 95th annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade kicks off at 9 a.m. ET on Thursday.