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5 ways to watch tonight's Independence Day fireworks live on the Fourth of July

Macy's big New York City fireworks spectacular airs on NBC on Saturday night, and you don't need cable to watch it unfold.

Matt Elliott Senior Editor
Matt Elliott is a senior editor at CNET with a focus on laptops and streaming services. Matt has more than 20 years of experience testing and reviewing laptops. He has worked for CNET in New York and San Francisco and now lives in New Hampshire. When he's not writing about laptops, Matt likes to play and watch sports. He loves to play tennis and hates the number of streaming services he has to subscribe to in order to watch the various sports he wants to watch.
Expertise Laptops, desktops, all-in-one PCs, streaming devices, streaming platforms
Matt Elliott
2 min read
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Fireworks displays are canceled across America, but you can watch online or from your TV.

Lexy Savvides/CNET

Ready for fireworks? Macy's is taking a guerrilla approach this year to its annual Fourth of July fireworks spectacular. Instead of one big pyrotechnic show on Independence Day, it has planned a series of smaller fireworks displays throughout New York City all week long. The displays will be short and launched from undisclosed locations throughout the city to prevent crowds from gathering during the coronavirus pandemic. The five-minute displays began July 1 and are continuing throughout the week, culminating on Independence Day itself, Saturday, July 4.

If you don't live in New York -- or even if you do and are smartly avoiding large crowds -- you can watch the fireworks on TV on Saturday night. NBC will televise Macy's Fourth of July fireworks show from 8-10 p.m. ET on the Fourth. The show will be broadcast in the Central and Mountain time zones starting at 7 p.m. local time. For those in the Pacific time zone, you can watch a replay starting at 11 p.m. PT.

The show will feature highlights from the fireworks displays from earlier in the week as well as a live show. And there will be music. The Black Eyed Peas and Tim McGraw are slated to perform as well as the poet Amanda Gorman. John Legend and the Young People's Chorus of New York City will provide the musical score for the fireworks display.

You don't need a cable or satellite TV subscription to watch NBC. All of the major live TV streaming services include NBC.  The catch is that not every service carries every local network, so check each one using the links below to make sure it carries NBC in your area. 

Alternatively, if you live in an area with good reception, you can watch NBC for free just by attaching an affordable (under $30) indoor antenna to nearly any TV. 

Sling TV's $30-a-month Blue plan includes NBC. Enter your address here to see which local channels are available where you live.

Read our Sling TV review.

YouTube TV costs $50 a month and includes NBC. Plug in your ZIP code on its welcome page to see which local networks are available in your area.

Read our YouTube TV review.

Hulu with Live TV costs $55 a month and includes NBC. Click the "View channels in your area" link on its welcome page to see which local channels are offered in your ZIP code.

Read our Hulu with Live TV review.

FuboTV costs $55 a month and includes NBC. Click here to see which local channels you get.

Read our FuboTV review.

AT&T TV Now's basic, $55-a-month Plus package includes NBC. You can use its channel lookup tool to see which local channels are available where you live.

Read our AT&T TV Now review.

All of the live TV streaming services other than Peacock above offer free trials, and all allow you to cancel anytime and require a solid internet connection. Looking for more information? Check out our massive streaming services guide.

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