My favorite New Year's Day pastime (while recovering from New Year's Eve) is to watch the Tournament of Roses parade. It's the best parade that's ever been and has been a standing tradition for 130 years. During the two-hour march through the streets, bands, floats, horses, and more travel five-and-a-half miles through Pasadena California. The most unique aspect of the Tournament of Roses parade is that every float has to be covered in only natural materials like flowers, plants, bark, seeds, and such.
Get the Tournament of Roses Parade app to find out more about it
It starts at 8:00 AM PT on January 1 (unless it's a Sunday, in which case the parade is moved to January 2). It runs across the U.S on a number of broadcast channels, like ABC, KTLA, and NBC. It's also available in Armenia, the Caribbean, Latin America, plus about 100 more territories and countries.
You can watch it live at 8:00 AM PT/11:00 AM ET (and rebroadcasted all day on KTLA) on the above-mentioned network channels, plus a handful of cable stations.
How to watch the Tournament of Roses parade if you have a cable subscription
If you're a cable subscriber, watching the Tournament of Roses parade is easy. If you haven't already taken advantage of universal sign-on on your iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV, you can simply sign in to one of the supported apps that are broadcasting the parade.
You'll be asked to authenticate your subscription by entering a code that you access via a web browser, so make sure you've got a device that you can access the internet from, like your iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV.
The following channels will broadcast the Tournament of Roses Parade on January 1.
- ABC - The ABC app is available for iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. The Rose parade coverage will begin at 8:30 AM PT on Jan. 1.
- NBC - The NBC app is available for iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. The Rose parade coverage will begin at 8:30 AM PT on Jan. 1. NOTE: the NBC app only supports live streaming in some areas. Check the app in your town to find out if you can stream the Rose Parade live.
- KTLA5 - KTLA only has a news coverage app for iPhone and iPad, but you can watch the Rose Parade directly from their website through their live media player. Coverage starts at 6:00 AM PT on Jan 1.
- ESPN - You can watch the Rose Parade with the WatchESPN app on iPhone and iPad or the ESPN Live app on Apple TV. The Rose Parade will air on ESPN at 8:00 AM PT on Jan 1.
- Hallmark Channel - The Hallmark Everywhere app doesn't support live TV, so if you want to watch the Rose Parade on the Hallmark Channel, you'll have to watch it through your regular cable channel.
- Univision - The Univision NOW app is available on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. The Rose Parade will begin at 8:00 AM PT on Jan 1.
- RFD-TV - RFT-TV doesn't have a dedicated app on iOS or tvOS, but if you have a Sling TV subscription, you can access the channel there, or if you have a membership to Country Club, you can stream the parade live from the website
How to watch the Tournament of Roses parade if you don't have a cable subscription
Unlike the college bowls that air on New Year's Day, the Tournament of Roses parade is for everyone. Access to the live broadcast isn't quite as easy as it is for subscribers, but you can still watch the parade without cable.
Starting at 8:00 AM PT on January 1, you can tune in to your preferred broadcast channel, like ABC, KTLA, or NBC using your good old-fashioned "rabbit ears," or if you want to watch the parade on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple TV, here are your best available options.
KTLA's YouTube live stream
This year, KTLA is live streaming the Tournament of Roses Parade so you don't have to watch it directly from their website if you don't want to. This is great for those of us that have Apple TV and don't want to AirPlay from our devices. This is the first year that KTLA has live streamed the parade, so I'm not sure whether we'll be able to watch the simulcast after the fact. I'll update this article when I find out.
Directly from KTLA's website
The Tournament of Roses Parade is one of the most popular parades of the year, and that's why KTLA will live stream a broadcast of the parade directly on their homepage starting Monday morning. Just click on the link below from your favorite browser
Use the Channels app and HomeRunHD
If you've already got your media center set up to watch over-the-air broadcast TV on your iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV, you're all set! Just tune in to ABC, NBC, or KTLA and you'll be oohing and ahhing at the beautiful floats at 8:00 AM PT.
How to watch live broadcast TV on your Apple TV without a cable subscription
Cal Poly's YouTube Live stream
Though there isn't an official YouTube channel that you can watch the full Rose parade from beginning to end, it's highly likely that you'll be able to watch portions of it on YouTube. Sometimes, you can even watch the parade in its entirety if someone has a good spot and a good camera setup. Cal Poly has a fantastic channel that shows how to build a Rose Parade float. Last year, they filmed the entire parade from the grandstand and it's pretty decent.
Univision Now free 7-day trial
If you prefer to watch the Rose Parade en Español, you can do so through the Univision app for free. The only catch is that you can't have already signed up for Univision NOW in the past. For $4.99 per month, you can watch Univision and UniMás content, plus live stream the channels right on your iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV. If you sign up for the first time right now, you can access the content for free for seven days. Just remember to unsubscribe before you seven days are up!
How do you march?
How are you watching the 131th Tournament of Roses Parade? Let us know in the comments!
Updated for the 2020 Rose Parade.
