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Forget the midnight toast, it seems this year’s most popular New Year’s Eve drinking game could be a case of “will they or won’t they (drink)?” on CNN.
Andy Cohen is back to co-host CNN’s New Year’s Eve Live with Anderson Cooper, and Cohen’s recent comments about the network’s so-called “drinking ban” has viewers eagerly tuning in to see what will transpire.
Buy CNN New Year’s Eve Live DIRECTV Stream
After CNN announced that its hosts would not be drinking on-air during the annual New Year’s Eve show, Cohen suggested that the supposed directive may not apply to himself or co-host Cooper. “CNN said the correspondents will not be drinking,” Cohen clarified to Rolling Stone. “Anderson and I will be the people partying on CNN [though] we will be partying responsibly,” he says.
Cohen’s tipsy antics on previous New Year’s Eve broadcasts have also landed the Bravo host in a supposed “feud” with Ryan Seacrest, who will be hosting Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve special on rival network ABC. Cohen drew the ire of Seacrest last year after he dissed ABC live on air, calling it “Ryan Seacrest’s group of losers” (Seacrest of course, has responded in jest, saying “I think there’s a serious journalist and then a friend of mine who has a lot of fun,” referring to Cohen and Cooper’s CNN show).
What will this year’s festivities hold? There’s only one way to find out. Here’s how to watch CNN’s New Year’s Eve Live with Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper.
When Does CNN’s New Year’s Eve Show Air?
CNN’s New Year’s Eve Live with Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper airs this Saturday, December 31 beginning at 8pm ET.
The show will once again be broadcast live from New York’s Times Square, and Cohen and Cooper will be on from 8pm to midnight ET. At 12:30am ET, they’ll hand things over to CNN’s Don Lemon, who will be live in New Orleans to ring in the New Year in the Central Time Zone.
How to Watch CNN’s New Year’s Eve Live
You’ll need a cable package with CNN in order to watch Cohen and Cooper’s New Year’s Eve special on TV. Don’t have cable? Watch CNN’s New Year’s Eve countdown through DIRECTV Stream, which offers 75+ live TV channels that you can stream on your smart TV or online.
DIRECTV Stream packages start at $69.99/month but the service is offering a 5-day free trial that you can grab here to watch the CNN New Year’s Eve show online free.
What we like: DIRECTV Stream also includes local channels like ABC, NBC and FOX, so you can use the service to switch between the CNN New Year’s Eve live stream, Dick Clark’s Rockin’ Eve on ABC and the Miley Cyrus special airing on NBC.
Sling TV is another popular streaming service that will let you watch CNN’s New Year’s Eve Live special. Sign up for Sling and watch Cohen and Cooper’s show online and on your TV through the Sling app. Both the Sling Blue and Sling Orange packages include CNN.
While Sling doesn’t offer a free trial, a subscription to the service starts at just $40/month with access to 30+ channels.
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Who Is Performing on CNN’s New Year’s Eve Live Show?
While Cohen and Cooper may be drawing most of the headlines for this year’s CNN special, the New Year’s Eve show will also feature some big performances, including Usher (performing from his Las Vegas Residency at Park MGM), Ellie Goulding, Patti Labelle, Ava Max and REO Speedwagon.
K-pop group NCT 127 will appear in a pre-recorded segment, and there will be appearances from Kevin Hart, John Stamos, White Lotus star Theo James, Steve Aoki, Nick Cannon and Tenacious D’s Jack Black and Kyle Gass, among others.
Cohen and Cooper will be joined live in New York by Jean Smart and Cheri Oteri, with Don Lemon in New Orleans. Live stream CNN’s New Year’s Eve Live show online for free on DIRECT Stream here.