NBC Viewers Fume as Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Broadcast Barely Shows Balloons in First Hour

This Thanksgiving morning isn’t a very happy one for many NBC and Peacock viewers.

TV watchers are irritated at NBCUniversal’s parade coverage so far. In the first 55 minutes, the broadcast only showed very brief glimpses of Dora the Explorer and the new Kpop Demon Hunters balloon / float featuring Derpy and Sussie. Despite NBC having cameras around the parade route with the balloons in view, they opted to focus on musical performances from Cynthia Erivo and the casts of Broadway productions.

While the special performances have always been part of the broadcast, it appears NBC might have gotten the balance a but wrong this year. See some of the heated reactions below:

• Hey @Macys, if you’re going to call it a Thanksgiving Day Parade, how about show the parade! All I’ve seen is singing, interviews, and commercials. I’d like to actually see the floats/balloons!” (source)
• “@nbc feel free to show the balloons, ya know, the actual parade.” (source)
• “nbc coverage of Macy day parade is TRASH. Stop talking and just show the balloons. Where is the live feed?” (source)
• “@NBCNews, Try showing more of the balloons. This has been awful so far. You had a whole segment talking about the balloons and didn’t show any. Get it together libs” (source)
• “For the record, I don’t watch it on NBC because it throws me into a rage. If I wanted Broadway I’d go to broadway. Show me floats, balloons, and bands.” (source)
• “My almost 3 year old has begged me to change it like twice already, kids don’t care about all this talking shit get to the balloons, do a couple big theatrical dance numbers, show Santa and call it a day. THE ONLY TIME IVE SEEN A BALOON Is THE CUT TO COMMERCIAL” (source)
• “Dear @Macys, we don’t care about this other bull crap. Show the balloons and floats.” (source)
• “Are they going to actually show any of the macys parade or is @SavannahGuthrie and @hodakotb just going to run their mouths the entire time? Its sad that my kids dont want to watch it because its “boring”. Thats not how I remember it as a child. Shut up and show the balloons.” (source)
• “When will they show the balloons for the #MacysThanksgivingParade??? I don’t need to see broadway skits, I’m here for the balloons on TV.” (source)

At 9:20 a.m. ET, Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb signaled that they were moving over to a desk setup. This possibly signals that NBC is planning to finally show more of the balloons. However, they might have already lost a chunk of viewers.

How to Watch Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade for Free

The 2025 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is airing on NBC two times on Thursday. The live broadcast is now on until noon ET. NBC will then air the National Dog Show from noon to 2 p.m. ET, before shifting over to an encore showing of the parade broadcast from 2-5 p.m. ET. NBC broadcasts are free to anyone with a digital antenna.

For those without a way to receive the NBC broadcast free and over the air, the network is available from most cable/satellite providers. Peacock, NBCUniversal’s streaming service, is also simulcasting coverage.