New York Comic Con is going virtual in 2020, so here’s how and where to stream the event and watch every NYCC panel online. Like most big events in 2020, NYCC will be held entirely online, but there’s no shortage of panels to catch this year. The event runs from October 8 to 11 and promises to provide (virtual) attendees with a packed schedule of guest appearances and discussions.
Organizer ReedPop announced the move to an online event back in August, revealing a full schedule for the conference the following month. It followed a similar move by SDCC back in July when Comic Con International cancelled the highly-anticipated event before organizing an online version, ‘Comic-Con@Home’ – which unfortunately turned out to be somewhat of a failure. Now, the New York conference is hoping to top its west-coast equivalent, with an impressive schedule of virtual panels on television and film properties, alongside video games, comics, and toy-focused discussions. There will, of course, be a host of celebrity guest appearances, and fans will even have a chance to set up one-on-one digital meet-and-greets with the stars.
This year, all NYCC panels will available to stream for free via the event’s YouTube channel over at YouTube.com/NYCC. That means everyone will get free access to all panels live, after which each video will be archived on the same YouTube channel so fans can re-watch at their leisure. The conference’s channel had several livestream feeds set up prior to the event’s official start, and the whole thing is designed for viewers to be able to tune in when the panel they’re interested in starts. The NYCC schedule kicks off on October 8 at 8am PST, and continues on October 9 from 5am, on October 10 from 5.35am, and on October 11 from 5am. Each day of events is set to finish between around 7pm and 8pm PST.
A full schedule of film and TV panels and events can be found on the official NYCC site, and there’s no shortage of coverage. The conference runs for four days and each of those days has a packed schedule of talks, discussions, and Q&As. Everything from Doctor Who to Star Trek: Discovery has a presence at NYCC 2020, and there’s even a Movie Trivia “schmoedown” between Kevin Smith and WWE star Chris Jericho. Amazon will be out in force at NYCC with a slew of panels based on its various shows, from Utopia to The Boys, while, not to be outdone, Hulu will also be hosting a series of panels, including events focused on Woke and Helstrom.
Alongside the exhaustive schedule of panel livestreams, there will be a range of extra activities to help fans feel as immersed in the virtual experience as possible. A virtual Artist Alley will allow attendees to interact with vendors and creators, while ReedPop will also be running an official NYCC Discord server to give viewers the chance to discuss all the events and revelations of the conference as if they were at the in-person version. All these extras can be accessed through the conference’s official site.
While having to cancel the in-person New York Comic Con was undoubtedly disappointing for many, DC has already proven virtual conferences can be great substitutes for the real thing. DC FanDome set a gold standard for online events, and NYCC organizers will likely be hoping to emulate some of that success with their digital con. With a truly impressive schedule of panels and free access for fans around the world, things are certainly looking promising.
