Finally. Chicago.

I never quite understood why American network television didn’t follow the ball drop in New York City with one in Chicago an hour later. And then, Las Vegas and then Los Angeles. I get that the largest audience for such an endeavor lives in the Eastern Time Zone…but it always seemed dismissive, as if the rest of the country didn’t really matter.

ABC experimented with the Central Time zone with a segment from New Orleans from 2017-2022…but it never got much traction.

Then Discover Puerto Rico convinced ABC’s Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve to attempt a grand experiment; to start the televised festivities in the Atlantic Time Zone, one hour ahead of New York City. And, in 2022, it was a predictable hit.

And now ABC is doubling down and adding a Chicago event hosted by Chance the Rapper…and a Vegas segment with Rob Gronkowski and Julianne Hough. 

And to think, it only took those NYC TV executives 50 years to figure out the rest of the country was hungry for their own time in the spotlight.

Happy New Year, y’all.