How to watch 2025 Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting live

It’s beginning to look a lot like “Christmas at Rockefeller Center.”

Tonight, the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree will be lit for the first time this season on a live TV special celebrating all things holiday in New York City with performances from the Radio City Rockettes and more.

This year’s Christmas tree hails from a backyard in Rensselaer County, New York. The Norway Spruce is 75-feet-tall and 45 feet in diameter.

As always, the tree will be decked out in 50,000 multicolored LED lights and topped with a 900-pound Swarovski star adorned with more than three million crystals.

When is the 2025 Rockefeller tree lighting?

“Christmas at Rockefeller Center” and the Rockefeller tree lighting will take place tonight, Dec. 3. The NBC broadcast begins at 8 p.m., though it’s likely the tree will be lit in the second hour of the program.

How to watch the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting for free:

If you don’t have cable or an antenna to watch NBC with, you’ll need a live TV streaming service to stream the tree lighting for free.

DIRECTV is our top pick for watching TV live for free — its five-day free trial includes NBC. When the trial is over, you’ll pay as low as $49.99/month and gain access to over 90 live channels.

Sling TV is another affordable way to stream live television; its Select plan includes NBC and starts at $19.99/month.

2025 Rockefeller tree lighting performers

Country music icon and star of “Happy’s Place” on NBC Reba McEntire will host “Christmas at Rockefeller Center” and perform during the show. She’ll be joined by “TODAY” anchors Savannah Guthrie, Craig Melvin and Al Roker.

Marc Anthony, Halle Bailey, Michael Bublé, Kristin Chenoweth, Laufey, New Edition, Brad Paisley, Carly Pearce and Gwen Stefani will also perform throughout the evening.

As always, the Radio City Rockettes (who are celebrating their 100th anniversary this year) will also take the stage at 30 Rock for a special performance.

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This article was written by Angela Tricarico, Commerce Streaming Reporter for Post Wanted Shopping, Page Six, and New York Post’s streaming property, Decider. Angela keeps readers up to date with cord-cutter-friendly deals, and information on how to watch your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and movies on every streaming service. Not only does Angela test and compare the streaming services she writes about to ensure readers are getting the best prices, but she’s also a superfan specializing in the intersection of shopping, tech, sports, and pop culture. Prior to joining Decider and The New York Post in 2023, she wrote about streaming and consumer tech at Insider Reviews