iHeartRadio Holiday Special

More than 85 stations across the country flip the switch to holiday music making iHeartRadio the holiday music destination

Hosted by Mario Lopez, the Holiday Special will feature interviews with Dan + Shay, Jennifer Hudson, Jimmy Fallon, Kelly Clarkson and more, broadcasting on iHeartMedia stations nationwide on November 27

New York – November 15, 2024 – iHeartMedia announced that the annual station flip to holiday music kicks off today with more than 85 stations across the country broadcasting the season’s festive music from today’s biggest artists as well as Christmas classics from Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and more 24/7. Continuing the celebration of the holiday season, the iHeartRadio Holiday Special returns this year hosted by Mario Lopez, the event will feature interviews with Dan + Shay, Jennifer Hudson, Jimmy Fallon, Kelly Clarkson and more discussing their favorite holiday songs and traditions. The special will broadcast across iHeartMedia stations nationwide and on the iHeartRadio app on November 27 at 7 p.m. local time. 

Every holiday season, iHeartMedia converts music radio stations in its key markets to all holiday music through Christmas Day- making iHeartMedia the No. 1 holiday music listening destination. 

Listeners can hear even more holiday cheer anywhere they are across more than 500 platforms and 2,000 devices with the iHeartRadio app with original stations like “iHeart Christmas,” playing all the holiday favorites; “North Pole Radio,” hosted by Santa Claus himself; “iHeart Christmas Classics,” the place to hear all the timeless holiday classics; or holiday channels playing all kinds of music, including iHeartCountry Christmas, iHeart Christmas Jazz, iHeart Christmas Rock, iHeart Christmas R&B, and more. To find all iHeartRadio’s extensive holiday offerings, listeners can visit the iHeartRadio app and search “iHeart Holiday.”

“Year after year, as the Christmas season approaches, listeners look to our stations as the holiday music destination, anticipating the return of their favorite songs, from the timeless classics like Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree to Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas Is You,” said Tom Poleman, Chief Programming Officer. “Listeners around the country have really come to rely on our stations to kick off the season, these songs ignite their spirits and evoke memories, hearing the music is nostalgic. That’s what also makes this Holiday Special, well, so special because it’s their favorite artists sharing their personal holiday memories with their fans.  Afterall, it is the most wonderful time of the year!”

Proud partners of the iHeartRadio Holiday Special include Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King and State Farm®.

More Than 85 Stations Across the Country Flip the Switch to Holiday Music Making iHeartRadio the Holiday Music Destination

Hosted by Mario Lopez, The Holiday Special Will Feature Interviews with Cher, David Foster and Katharine McPhee, Elton John, Meghan Trainor, Rob Thomas, Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic and Train Broadcasting on iHeartMedia’s AC and Classic Hits Stations Nationwide on November 22 

New York – November 10, 2023 – iHeartMedia announced the annual station flip to holiday music kicks off today with more than 85 stations across the country broadcasting the season’s festive music from today’s biggest artists as well as Christmas classics from Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and more 24/7. Continuing the celebration of the holiday season, the iHeartRadio Holiday Special returns this year on November 22. Hosted by Mario Lopez, the two-hour special event will feature interviews with Cher, David Foster and Katharine McPhee, Elton John, Meghan Trainor, Rob Thomas, Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic and Train discussing their favorite holiday songs and traditions. The special will broadcast across iHeartMedia’s AC and Classic Hits stations nationwide and on the iHeartRadio app on November 22 at 7 p.m. local time. 

Every holiday season, iHeartMedia converts music radio stations in its key markets to all holiday music through Christmas Day. Each year, these stations continue to have the largest audiences of all radio stations in each market – often doubling the audience size from non-holiday programming – making iHeartMedia the No. 1 holiday music listening destination.  

Listeners can discover a holiday station for every mood and celebration across more than 250 platforms and 2,000 devices with the iHeartRadio. Original stations like “iHeart Christmas,” playing all the holiday favorites; “North Pole Radio,” hosted by Santa Claus himself; “iHeart Christmas Classics,” the place to hear all the timeless holiday classics; or holiday channels playing all kinds of music, including iHeartCountry Christmas, iHeart Christmas Jazz, iHeart Christmas Rock, iHeart Christmas R&B, and more. To find all iHeartRadio’s extensive holiday offerings, listeners can visit the iHeartRadio app and search “iHeart Holiday.”

“Listeners look forward to that special day when we convert so many of our stations to Christmas music because it means that the holiday season has really started,” said Tom Poleman, Chief Programming Officer for iHeartMedia. “To celebrate we are bringing back the iHeartRadio Holiday Special with Cher, David Foster and Katharine McPhee, Elton John, Meghan Trainor, Rob Thomas, Ryan Tedder and Train who will be sharing their personal holiday memories.”

Hosted by Mario Lopez, The Virtual Special Will Broadcast on iHeartMedia’s AC, Hot AC and Classic Hits Stations Nationwide and Video Stream on Meta Quest and iHeartRadio’s YouTube and Facebook Pages on November 24

Each Year Audiences Double on Holiday Music Radio Stations 

Compared to Non-Holiday Programming – Making iHeartMedia Stations 

Across the Country the No. 1 Most Listened to Holiday Music Destination

 NEW YORK – November 5, 2021 – To celebrate its annual switch to festive music of the Christmas season across its stations nationwide, iHeartMedia today announced the second annual iHeartRadio Holiday Special, a virtual concert hosted by Mario Lopez. This special event will feature Kelly Clarkson, Michael Bublé, Train and Pentatonix performing some of the most popular holiday classics, and will broadcast across iHeartMedia’s AC, Hot AC and Classic Hits stations nationwide and on the iHeartRadio app, and video stream on iHeartRadio’s YouTube and Facebook pages on November 24 at 7 p.m. Eastern time. Watch the exclusive VR performance in the Horizon Venues app on Meta Quest. 

Every holiday season, iHeartMedia converts music radio stations in its key markets to all Christmas music through Christmas Day. Each year, these stations continue to have the largest audiences of all radio stations in each market – often doubling the audience size from non-holiday programming – making iHeartMedia the No. 1 holiday music listening destination. 

This season, iHeartMedia’s annual station flip to Christmas music kicks off today, November 5 at 5 p.m. local time, with more than 80 stations across the country broadcasting and streaming the season’s festive music from today’s biggest artists as well as holiday classics from Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and more around-the-clock. 

“Our listeners always anxiously await the day our stations flip to Christmas music,” said Tom Poleman, Chief Programming Officer for iHeartMedia. “Kelly Clarkson, Michael Bublé, Train and Pentatonix have some of the best songs of the holiday season, and we’re excited to have them perform on our show.” 

Additionally, listeners can hear even more holiday cheer anywhere they are across more than 250 platforms and 2,000 devices with the iHeartRadio app with iHeartRadio Original stations like “iHeartChristmas,” playing all the holiday favorites; “North Pole Radio,” hosted by Santa Claus and featuring a message line where kids can leave Christmas wishes for the big man himself; “iHeartChristmas Classics,” the place to hear all the timeless holiday classics; or for listeners who like to jam out, they can check out iHeartChristmas R&B, iHeartChristmas Country, iHeartChristmas Rock and more. iHeartRadio has a holiday station for every musical taste and listeners can check them out on the dedicated iHeartRadio Holiday page.

Proud sponsors of the iHeartRadio Holiday Special include Meta Quest and State Farm®, with more to be announced.