iHeartMedia Announces Presenters and Special Guests for the 2026 iHeartPodcast Awards Airing Live and Free on VEEPS from SXSW March 16 at 7 p.m. CT

The event will also broadcast on select iHeartMedia radio stations across the country at 11 p.m. local time

WHAT: The 2026 iHeartPodcast Awards will take place on Monday, March 16 at ACL Live at the Moody Theater in Austin, TX and air live and free-to-view on streaming platform, VEEPS. The event will span all genres of podcasts including Comedy, Crime, Sports, News, Business, Pop Culture, Food and more, with winners in each category determined by a panel of industry leaders, creatives and visionaries. Today, iHeartMedia reveals its list of presenters.

WHO: Actress, comedian and host of the “Thanks Dad” podcast, Ego Nwodim, will emcee this year’s iHeartPodcast Awards, actor and comedian Will Ferrell will open the show and Holly Frey, host of “Stuff You Missed in History Class,” will be the winners correspondent. The event will also feature in-show music from DJ Obscene. 

Presenters for the 2026 iHeartPodcast Awards will include Clayton Echard, Eric Andre, Hannah Berner and Paige DeSorbo, Iliza Schlesinger, Jennie Garth, Jonathan Goldstein, Juju Green, Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark, Lele Pons, Rider Strong and others as well as TikTok creators Caroline Vazzana, Clifford Taylor IV and Tim Martin.

Special guests will include Andrea Gunning, Chris Wylde, DJ Dramos, Elyse Myers, Laurie Santos and an array of nominees.

The event will once again be open to select SXSW badge holders. A full list of the 2026 iHeartPodcast Awards categories and nominees can be found here.

WHEN: Monday, March 16, 2026, at 7 p.m. CT                          

WHERE: ACL Live at the Moody Theater (310 W Willie Nelson Blvd, Austin, TX 78701)

Streaming live exclusively on VEEPS at veeps.events/iheartpodcastawards.

The event will also broadcast on select iHeartMedia radio stations at 11p.m. local time and available on the iHeartRadio app.

MORE: Executive producers for the 2026 iHeartPodcast Awards are John Sykes, Tom Poleman, Conal Byrne and Bart Peters for iHeartMedia.

Proud sponsors of the 2026 iHeartPodcast Awards include Audible, Avocados from Mexico, Gatorade Lower Sugar and She Rises Studios. For more information visit here.

About iHeartMedia, Inc.

iHeartMedia, Inc. [Nasdaq: IHRT] is the leading audio media company in America, with nine out of ten Americans listening to iHeart broadcast radio in every month. iHeart's broadcast radio assets alone have a larger audience in the U.S. than any other media outlet and over four times the ad-enabled audience of the largest digital only audio service. iHeart is the largest podcast publisher according to both Podtrac and Triton, with more downloads than the next two podcast publishers combined, has the most recognizable live events across all genres of music, has the number one social footprint among audio players, has the highest-reach and most engaged influencers, and is the only fully integrated audio ad tech solution across broadcast, streaming and podcasts. The company continues to leverage its strong audience connection and unparalleled consumer reach to build new platforms, products and services. Visit iHeartMedia.com for more company information.