Philly station expands Thanksgiving parade broadcast to additional markets and streaming platforms

WPVI in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, will expand distribution of its annual Thanksgiving Day parade to nine additional television markets in 2026, alongside a national streaming rollout across Disney+, Hulu and ABC News Live.

“The 6abc Dunkin’ Thanksgiving Day Parade” airs Thursday, Nov. 26, 2026, beginning at 8:30 a.m. Eastern with a half-hour preview, followed by three hours of parade coverage.

Dunkin’ returns as title sponsor for the 16th consecutive year.

The broadcast will be hosted by “Action News” personalities Rick Williams, Alicia Vitarelli, Adam Joseph, Karen Rogers and Maggie Kent. “Good Morning America First Look” co-anchors Hanna Battah and Sophie Flay will also join Williams and Vitarelli in the broadcast booth.

The parade’s celebrity lineup includes Rick Hearst of “General Hospital,” William Stanford Davis of “Abbott Elementary,” Michael James Scott of “Scrubs” and Carson Kressley of “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.” Disney characters Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse are also scheduled to appear.

Musical performances will feature Debbie Gibson, Club Nouveau, Bianca Ryan, Anita Ward and 2026 “American Idol” finalist Jordan McCullough.

Philadelphia-area arts and entertainment organizations will also participate, including Ensemble Arts Philly, Philly Pops, the Philadelphia Orchestra, Philadanco and the Philadelphia Ballet.

The parade will feature the Philadelphia 76ers Dance Team and the Philadelphia Professional Football Cheerleaders Alumni.

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A balloon depicting Ray, the yellow sunshine mascot of ABC’s “Good Morning America,” will return after making its parade debut in 2025. Santa Claus will close the procession, continuing the event’s tradition of marking the beginning of the Christmas holiday season.

The 2026 parade also marks a change in responsibilities for WPVI general manager John W. Morris, who previously served as the event’s executive producer for nine years.

“For the past nine years, I have had the privilege of serving as the parade’s executive producer and working with the team that brought this celebration to the Parkway and into viewers’ homes,” Morris said in a statement.

“I’m excited to experience the parade in my new role leading 6abc, but I’m especially looking forward to attending with my family.”

In addition to Dunkin’, corporate sponsors include ACME, Philadelphia-area RAM dealers, Jefferson and Pennie.

The event will again incorporate the 6abc Dunkin’ holiday food drive, with spectators encouraged to bring canned goods for collection by Scouts stationed along the parade route.

National streaming coverage will be available on Disney+, Hulu and ABC News Live. The broadcast will also stream through 6abc.com, the 6abc Philadelphia News app and the station’s connected television apps for Fire TV, Google TV, Apple TV and Roku.

The parade will also air in additional markets, including Johnstown, Pennsylvania, on WATM (ABC23); Salisbury, Maryland, on WBOC (Fox21); Washington, D.C., on WDCW (DCW50); Erie, Pennsylvania, on WJET (JET24); Wilkes-Barre–Scranton, Pennsylvania, on WSWB (CW38); Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina, on WTVD (ABC11); and Puerto Rico on WORA (ABC5).

Not all of the stations carrying the parade, which is being done with a syndication-style arragenement, are ABC stations and only one other one is directly owned by ABC Owned Television Stations, WTVD.