ABC and Dick Clark Productions have extended their agreement for Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest for five years. The show will air on the network through Jan. 1, 2029.
The show was created in 1972 by Dick Clark, who conceived it as a younger-skewing competitor to veteran bandleader Guy Lombardo‘s long-running New Year’s Eve broadcasts on CBS. The special first aired on Dec. 31, 1972. Its first two editions were broadcast by NBC, and hosted by Three Dog Night (which had a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972) and George Carlin, respectively, with Clark anchoring coverage from Times Square.
The show moved to ABC in 1974, and Clark took over as host. In December 2004, Clark suffered a stroke. Due to lingering speech impediments from the stroke, Clark ceded hosting duties to Ryan Seacrest the following year, but he continued to make limited appearances on the show until his death in April 2012 at age 82.
The special has been billed as Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest since 2008. It is remarkable that Clark’s name is still embedded in the name of the show, and will be through at least 2029. That is seen as a sign of Clark’s continued brand-name appeal, more than a decade after his death. It is similar to the way Walt Disney remains a reliable brand name, though he died in 1966.
Since 2000, the special has broadcast segments in prime time in addition to the late-night broadcast, initially occupying the 10 p.m. ET/PT hour. Since 2011, the special has represented the entirety of ABC’s primetime schedule on New Year’s Eve.
Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest 2023 attracted 13.8 million total viewers last year, drawing 17.9 million total viewers and hitting a 5.34 Adult 18-49 rating in the midnight quarter-hour. The show has been the top-rated New Year’s Eve programming special for more than 30 years.
This year’s iteration of Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2024 is set to air live Sunday, Dec. 31, at 8 p.m. on ABC. Details around co-hosts, performers in Times Square and additional locations will be announced soon.
(DCP is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a Penske Media Corporation (PMC) subsidiary and joint venture between PMC and Eldrige. PMC is the parent company of Billboard.)
