Taylor Swift boosts NFL viewership — again
Taylor Swift attended her second-consecutive Kansas City Chiefs game on Sunday, and once again, her presence led viewership numbers to skyrocket.
Sunday’s broadcast averaged 27 million viewers, which was the most for a Sunday NFL game since the Chiefs beat the Eagles in the Super Bowl earlier this year, Deadline reported. Viewership even reached 29 million in the second quarter.
Sunday’s game fell just short of the 27.5 million average that tuned into the season’s first and most-watched game: the Chiefs’ loss to the Detroit Lions on Thursday, Sept. 7.
The Chiefs matchup against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday night in Week 4 last season only averaged 22.2 million viewers.
Related
On Sunday, the camera cut to the global pop superstar 17 times during NBC’s broadcast, according to Billboard. Those shots of Swift, who was at the game to watch her new beau Travis Kelce, appeared to pay off.
Female viewership saw the biggest increase on Sunday. The following female viewer demographics experienced a jump:
Girls ages 12-17 increased by 53%.
Women ages 18-24 increased by 24%.
Women over the age of 35 increased by 34%.
When Swift attended the Chiefs’ home game against the Bears on Sept. 24, viewership for females ages 18-49 increased 63% from the Chiefs’ previous game, Front Office Sports’ David Rumsey reported on X, the site formerly known as Twitter.
Swift attended Sunday’s game with celebrities Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, Sophie Turner, Sabrina Carpenter and Hugh Jackman. She was also seen talking to Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ wife Brittany Mahomes and Kelce’s mom Donna Kelce, who arrived late after watching her eldest son, Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles, play earlier in the day.
Donna Kelce joining Taylor Swift for SNF 🙌
📺: #KCvsNYJ on NBC⁰📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/cLJQ8MOopx pic.twitter.com/U6tmmR2oSP— NFL (@NFL) October 2, 2023
The singer is also boosting ticket interest for Chiefs games. Attending an NFL game is a cheaper alternative to Swift’s “The Eras Tour,” as the Deseret News previously reported.
After news first broke that Swift could be in attendance at New York’s MetLife Stadium — she does own a home in New York — the demand for tickets to Sunday’s game leaped.
Traffic on Vivid Seats’ Chiefs-Jets game page increased by over 173%, the Deseret News reported.
What are football fans saying about the Swift-centric ‘Sunday Night Football’ broadcast?
Several football fans were not pleased with Swift taking over the broadcast of the Jets-Chiefs game. They took to X to share their frustrations.
Here are some of the best reactions:
Me when the NBC camera man shows Taylor Swift for the 70th time pic.twitter.com/jaSb5QyFU5
— John-John (@notjfkjr) October 2, 2023
Everyone when NBC cuts to Taylor Swift pic.twitter.com/yBu5Y5VEr8
— daniel jones fan (@ownedbydanny) October 2, 2023
Nbc try not to talk about or show taylor swift after a play finish pic.twitter.com/AEbFuNDTNT
— he’s me (@zolethv) October 2, 2023
Does anyone know if Taylor swift at the Jets vs Chiefs game ? NBC hasn’t mentioned anything yet
— Vinay Sharma (@boogieDaGusto) October 2, 2023
Hey, NBC, enough already with all the shots of the attention-seeking diva who doesn’t even play football.
No more Aaron Rodgers. Show us Taylor Swift.— Mike Finger (@mikefinger) October 2, 2023
1. I love Taylor Swift as much as the next Swiftie, but NBC was doing too much. Let her enjoy the game and let the fans enjoy the game.
2. Don't tear down women for being the cause that your players aren't playing well.— samantha ivy (@samanthaivyyyy) October 2, 2023