The Vienna New Year's Concert was broadcast on television for the first time in 1959, and soon became a major cultural event in Europe. In the televised broadcast, the Vienna Opera and Ballet also accompanied the New Year's Concert with classical Viennese dances, a tradition that has been preserved to this day. In China, televised broadcasts by China Central Television began in 1987.

The Vienna New Year Concert is broadcast live on television to more than 40 countries around the world every year, with an estimated audience of more than 1 billion. The concert has formed some traditions, including three encores, the last two of which are always "The Blue Danube" by Johann Strauss the Younger and "Radesky March" by Johann Strauss the Elder. 》. In the last song of the encore, "Radesky March", the audience will also join in the performance and clap along with the beat in specific sections, and the conductor will also turn around to direct the audience's rhythm. Another tradition is the conductor's New Year's address.

At the 1987 New Year's Concert, when the "Radetzky March" played, the audience couldn't help but start clapping to the beat, and Karajan turned around to conduct the audience. This continued every year, but in the 2005 New Year's concert, this piece was canceled in memory of the victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami.

At the 1989 New Year's Concert, when "The Blue Danube" played, the audience's applause interrupted the artists' performance. Kleiber faced the audience and delivered a New Year's message. In some subsequent years, conductors have said "Happy New Year" (most recently Lorin Maazel in 2005).