iHEART'S JINGLE BALL SCORES BIG FOR ABC

iHeartMedia scored some tasty numbers for its 12/21 iHeartRadio Jingle Ball TV Special on ABC, drawing 9.5 million viewers for the two-hour program. That's a 500% increase in the 18-49 demo over last year, making it the top-watched show in that group in the 9-10pm slot. Overall, the special was the second-most-watched of the evening, up from 10th in 2022, and generated its highest total viewer delivery since it began airing in 2013.

In the social-entertainment program category, the show was by far the most-watched on TV that night, with an increase of 947% in viewership over last year.

The iHeartRadio Jingle Ball TV Special featured performances taped at Jingle Ball shows in New York, Los Angeles, Dallas and Tampa by Cher, Olivia Rodrigo, SZA, Sabrina Carpenter, OneRepublic, Niall Horan, Doechii, Big Time Rush, Jelly Roll, AJR, Pentatonix and Melanie Martinez.

We asked John Sykes for a quote, but he was still working on his Christmas pudding.