94 Years Young posted: 01/12/2017
by Rob Silvershein
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, at the Crossroads of Tradition and Technology
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade began in 1924, was first televised in 1948, and continues to be one of the most-popular family viewing events in television. To many, the parade represents the unofficial start of the holiday season. With 3.5 million spectators and over 20 million viewers watching the event on television, the parade combines marching bands, floats, Broadway show performers, giant balloons, and celebrities as the formula for its success. While the number of viewers of the event has been holding steady over the years, the percentage of households viewing the parade has been steadily dropping.
The question is what more can be done to ensure that such a successful event continues to adapt to the times?
A Little Bit of History
Since 1952, NBC has been the official broadcaster of the Macy's Parade, but since the event is held in public, there cannot be exclusive rights offered to anyone. That is the reason that CBS also has been broadcasting the event. As recent as 5 years ago, people who wanted to view the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade had 3 primary choices: Tuning in to NBC or CBS, or attending the event in person.
In 2012 the parade route changed due to high wind safety concerns around Columbus Circle, making it more difficult for CBS to cover the event. However, CBS continues to cover the parade from its Black Rock Headquarters on 6th Avenue. NBCU has also been hosting the event in Spanish on its sister network, Telemundo, since 2003.
2017 Options for viewing the Parade
For the 2017 Parade, many viewing options were made available to the public
Network Coverage: CBS, NBCU, Telemundo
Paid Apps: NBC Live, CBS All Access
Free Streams: EarthCam, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
The Macy's Social Media Site: Enables the viewer to take a deeper dive into the parade, its history, the route, and the lineup.
360 Degree coverage: In addition to the standard streams, Verizon has partnered with NBC and Macy's to bring viewers a 360-degree view of the parade on its You Tube Channel.
New for 2017: Verizon has added a camera on the lead parade float, plus augmented reality Easter eggs allowing users to cash in on Black Friday deals. Verizon also sponsored a 60-second television spot thanking first-responders, and the split screens during which ads ran while the live parade was going on.
Why the Future Will Continue to be Bright for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
With more and more people moving away from Live Television Broadcasts, the Thanksgiving Parade is somewhat bucking that trend, and will continue to do so for a long time.
Good Money
Not only is the Thanksgiving Day Parade a Holiday Tradition, but it is also a money-maker for the Broadcast Networks. The Parade itself is full of corporate sponsors of balloons, floats, and musicians. The timing of the parade, just before Black Friday and Cyber Monday, is ideal to ensure a steady stream of commercial advertisers. Unlike major sporting events, there are no fees paid out for exclusive broadcast rights. One can be certain that the Networks are not going to do anything to jeopardize the success of the parade.
Embracing Technology
NBCU, CBS, Macy's, and other sponsors have been doing all the right things to ensure that their audiences stay engaged. The Verizon partnership with NBCU and Macy's showing the 360-degree views, augmented reality, and split screens ads, are just some of the examples of how technology can enhance the viewer experience.
Also, enabling the streaming of the event on many disparate devices captures larger and younger audiences, who tend to not watch traditional TV and builds a sense of tradition into the psyche of these viewers.
Smart Marketing
The parade broadcast is also leading the way in intelligent marketing. While the parade audience is getting older, it still captures young people. Research shows that if you capture the audience young, they will continue to flock to this annual event as they get older. Furthermore, the move away from a total reliance on 30-second commercial spots, and into more relevant and authentic sponsorships and experiences is the future of advertising.
In Conclusion
The 94-year old Macy's Thanksgiving Parade tradition continues to be strong and will stay strong thanks to the broadcasters of the event understanding that if done properly, audiences young and old, will continue to not only view the event, but engage in richer and deeper ways. Watching and following the event last week gave me a glimpse into the future of what traditional broadcasters and marketers need to do to be successful -that is to be relevant, authentic, and open to change.
Most recent headlines
17/12/2025
Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame Inducts 10 Industry Icons During Unforgettable ...
17/12/2025
ESPN to Debut MNF Playbook with Next Gen Stats, a New AI-Driven NFL Data-AltCastThe series, powered by Adrenaline TruPlay AI, launches Dec. 22 and runs through ...
17/12/2025
Inaugural Optum Golf Channel Games Debut Under the Lights' in Primetime on ...
17/12/2025
The right playlist is essential on New Year's Eve, building the energy as you get ready and keeping it high as you count down to midnight. This year, Spotif...
17/12/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
17/12/2025
Audiences Watched Over 103 Billion Minutes of TV on Thanksgiving Day
NFL Games ...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
KPop Demon Hunters Stars Visit Berklee for Weeklong Celebration Andrew Choi and EJAE, who voiced the film's main characters and contributed to its soundtr...
17/12/2025
Wednesday 17 December 2025
Heated Rivalry will be coming to Sky and streaming service NOW on 10 JanuaryTurn on cookies to view this content. Go to Privacy opti...
17/12/2025
Back to All News
Inside The Unseen World Of Indian Customs: Netflix Reveals The...
17/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix announces PAPARAZZI KING: the docu series coming to Ne...
17/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils First Look at Jo Nesbo's Detective Hole Pr...
17/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Welcomes Warner Bros. Discovery Board Recommendation
Business
17 December 2025
Global
Link copied to clipboard
After Careful Revi...
17/12/2025
RT has announced that Kathy Fox has been appointed Commissioning Editor with re...
17/12/2025
The Hao AI Lab research team at the University of California San Diego - at the forefront of pioneering AI model innovation - recently received an NVIDIA DGX B...
17/12/2025
Editor's note: This post is part of Into the Omniverse, a series focused on ...
17/12/2025
With the new season of Dancing with the Stars shimmering in the not-too-distant future this New Year, the celebrity and dancer pairings of the twelve couples ha...
16/12/2025
Hawkins has landed on Spotify, just in time for Stranger Things Season 5, Volume...
16/12/2025
Wherever you are, your favorite music and audio content should go seamlessly with you. That's why Spotify has partnered with NAVER Corp, Korea's leading...
16/12/2025
2025 Wrapped arrived bigger and bolder than ever. This year's experience is designed to be ultra personal and shareable, with new features like Wrapped Part...
16/12/2025
Three 12-kilowatt Advanced Electric Propulsion System thrusters, supplied by L3Harris Technologies, form the core of Gateway's propulsion system. Pictured i...
16/12/2025
The challenge facing America's defense industrial base is not just about speed - its about rebuilding the foundation that makes speed possible. Our nations ...
16/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
16/12/2025
SEVILLE, Spain Canal Sur, the public broadcasting service for Andalusia, Spain, has completed a total technology refresh based on Pebble's resilient, softwa...
16/12/2025
NEW YORK Teleprompting hardware provider Telescript International has acquired all software code and intellectual property previously owned by Telescript West. ...
16/12/2025
As cable operators face increased competition from 5G fixed wireless access providers, a new report from Ookla Research finds that T-Mobile is the FWA speed lea...
16/12/2025
Apple has announced a major upgrade to the Apple TV app for device owners outside the Apple ecosystem with news that the Apple TV app for Android now supports G...
16/12/2025
Space42 grows Direct-to-Device partner ecosystem through a Memorandum of Underst...
16/12/2025
16 Dec 2025
VEON Announces Release Date for Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2025 R...
16/12/2025
16 Dec 2025
VEON's Kyivstar Invests in Renewable Energy in Ukraine with Acq...
16/12/2025
Back to All News
Emma Appleton, Fares Fares, Frida Gustavsson and Jakob Oftebro...
16/12/2025
Back to All News
Docu-reality My Korean Boyfriend Gets a Trailer and Premiere D...
16/12/2025
Harmonic's XOS Advanced Media Processor Improves Streaming Video Quality and Boosts Viewer Engagement SAN JOSE, Calif. - Dec. 16, 2025 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: ...
16/12/2025
RT Sport Awards 2025 live on RT One and RT Player at 8:05pm on Saturday 20 December.
On Saturday 20 December live on RT One and RT Player at the earlier t...
16/12/2025
Singer -songwriter Brian Kennedy has been announced as the final celebrity dance...
15/12/2025
Harlem Globetrotters Celebrate 100th Anniversary With New Brand Campaign From Th...
15/12/2025
Top L-R: La Tierra Del Valor (The Home of the Brave), Mangittatuarjuk (The Gnawe...
15/12/2025
L3Harris will leverage 15 years of experience supporting the E-4B Nightwatch and...
15/12/2025
CONWAY, Ark. In a notable example of how the loss of federal funding is forcing public stations to make massive cuts and operational changes, the statewide pub...
94 Years Young posted: 01/12/2017 
