Start the new year with the 137th Rose Parade
Start the new year with the 137th Rose Parade
Don’t miss the pageantry of one of the most beloved holiday traditions.
Southern California icon Magic Johnson serves as the Grand Marshall of the 137th Rose Parade when the annual flower-focused festivities open up the new year. As it does every year, the parade can be seen via multiple outlets, on broadcast channels ABC, Fox, and NBC, on cable via CNN and Great American Family, and in Spanish on Telemundo and Univision. Coverage will begin at 11 a.m. ET on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, and we recommend watching with a five-day free trial to DIRECTV.
How to watch the 2026 Rose Parade
- When: Thursday, Jan. 1 at 11 a.m. ET
- TV: ABC, Fox, NBC, CNN, Great American Family, Telemundo, Univision
- Stream: Watch with a five-day free trial of DIRECTV.
- From anywhere: Watch with a subscription to a VPN.
Everything you need to know about the 2026 Rose Parade
Why we recommend DIRECTV to watch the 2026 Rose Parade
When it comes to offering the most channels in streaming, every live TV streaming service is chasing DIRECTV. The platform offers the most of The Streamable’s top 35 cable channels, so if you are looking for a breadth of programming options, DIRECTV is a surefire hit. In addition, the streamer has the industry’s best guaranteed free trial. While others can roll out longer options depending on what time of year it is and what qualifications you meet as a customer, DIRECTV offers a five-day trial to all new users. So, if you are specifically looking to watch the Falcons vs. Rams game, this is the option that makes the most sense.
But in the 2025-26 season of NFL and college football, for the first time, DIRECTV is able to offer an even more compelling package of channels for football fans. Earlier this year, DIRECTV launched its Genre Packs that allow people to pick curated channel lineups around central themes and genres. So, depending on what channel or channels you want to watch the parade on, DIRECTV has tons of different options for you to choose from.
Then, if you want to stick around and watch the Rose Bowl, the rest of the College Football Playoff, and the NFL postseason, you can go with the MySports plan. That DIRECTV offering runs $70 a month after the aforementioned five-day free trial, which gives you a way to check out everything that it has to offer before having to pay a penny. You’ll also get a bunch of great sports channels with MySports, including ACC Network, Big Ten Network, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, FS1, FS2, Golf Channel, MLB Network, NBA TV, NFL Network, NHL Network, SEC Network, TBS, TNT, and USA Network, and depending on your market, ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC.
These channels bring you an incredible selection of games from across pro and college sports, oh, and MySports also comes with a free ESPN+ subscription? Pretty solid. All these channels and features are available for just $70, which is why it’s our favorite way to watch.
DIRECTV
DIRECTV is one of The Streamable’s top choices for the best live TV streaming service overall in 2026, especially for users who want the most channels or want to watch the most live sports. With an unbeatable lineup of local, news, sports, and entertainment channels, three main signature packages, an unlimited DVR, and 20 simultaneous streams at home, DIRECTV remains a premier choice for any cord-cutter.
Can you watch the 2026 Rose Parade for free?
If you are just looking for a streaming service to watch this specific game and nothing else, there are options available for you. DIRECTV, Hulu + Live TV, Fubo, and YouTube TV all offer free trials, but they vary in length, so be wary. DIRECTV’s industry-leading trial runs for five days, while Hulu + Live TV’s is a solid three days.
Those are pretty straightforward, but when it comes to the sports-minded streamer Fubo, things can get a little complicated. As The Streamable’s expert David Satin discovered when signing up for the services, figuring out how long Fubo’s trial is — even as you are signing up — can be a bit difficult. Nonetheless, it will be at least one day, with the potential to be as many as seven, depending on a wide range of factors that Fubo does not share publicly.
The YouTube TV trial is said to be “up to two weeks,” but can be as short as two days. So it is difficult to ascertain what you are actually getting before you go through the signup process.
If you are looking to watch the game for free, I would recommend DIRECTV, because that streamer has the longest guaranteed free trial and gives you the best channel options.
| DIRECTV | Fubo | Hulu | Philo | Sling TV | YouTube TV | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Trial | Free Trial | Free 3-Day Trial | Free Trial | Save with Sling | Free Trial | |||||
| $20.99 | $9.99 | $28.99 | $25 | $19.99 | $29.99 | $45.99 | $45.99 | $64.99 | ||
| ABC | + $24 | + $59 | + $61 | - | - | ✓ | - | ✓ | ✓ | |
| CNN | + $22 | - | + $61 | - | - | - | ✓ | ✓ | + $18 | |
| Fox | + $19 | + $59 | + $61 | - | - | ✓ | - | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Great American Family | + $44 | + $59 | + $61 | ✓ | - | - | + $6 | + $6 | - | |
| NBC | + $19 | + $11 | + $61 | - | - | ✓ | - | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Telemundo | + $15 | + $59 | + $61 | - | - | - | - | - | ✓ | |
| Univision | + $15 | + $59 | + $61 | - | - | - | - | - | ✓ | |
Watch a preview of the 2026 Rose Parade
About the 2026 Rose Parade
For millions of viewers around the world, the Rose Parade isn’t just a New Year’s Day event — it’s a ritual. Even after the previous night’s revelries, lovers of flora and spectacle wake up early to kick off the new year with the artistry and pageantry of the Rose Parade.
Stretching five and a half miles through Pasadena, the parade blends tradition and flower-filled creativity through four core elements: meticulously decorated floats, equestrian units, marching bands, and Tournament Entries. Many of these participants return year after year, their long-standing relationships with the Tournament of Roses helping preserve the event’s history while ensuring that it still feels very much alive and relevant.
That balance between past and present is what makes the Rose Parade so remarkable. What began as a modest gathering of 3,000 spectators admiring flower-adorned horse-drawn carriages has evolved into a showcase of modern engineering cleverly hidden beneath layers of natural materials. Behind the scenes, nearly 1,000 volunteer “White Suiters” collectively donate more than 80,000 hours each year, giving up nights, weekends, and holidays to make sure both the Rose Parade and the Rose Bowl Game remain as seamless — and special — as audiences expect.
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