Taylor Swift was in the luxury boxes inside Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium and her presence at one of the biggest days on the NFL regular-season calendar helped the league pop a huge spike in viewership.
An average of more than 29 million fans tuned into CBS and Nickelodeon combined to watch the Chiefs’ 20-14 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, with plenty of the 12-time Grammy Award-winning girlfriend of Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce shown on the broadcast. The 29-million-plus tuning in was a 29% increase from last year’s Christmas Day game on CBS. It also was the highest-rated game on the holiday since 1989 – coincidentally the name of Swift’s fifth studio album
The Chiefs’ upset loss to the Raiders saw Swift comforting new friend Brittany Mahomes, wife of Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The game peaked with over 37 million viewers tuning in to get a glimpse of Kelce, Swift, and others. The 28.8 million viewers from CBS alone made Raiders-Chiefs the most-watched Christmas Day program in the history of the network. That covers football, Charlie Brown, and everything else.
Taylor Swift helps the NFL enjoy its best Christmas Day viewership since… 1989! Average of more than 29 MILLION fans tune in to see Travis Kelce and the Chiefs lose to Raiders
Las Vegas’ victory denied, for now, the Chiefs an AFC West championship and a playoff berth. Kansas City now has a 9-6 record, while the Raiders are 7-8 and looking to find their way back into postseason contention. The Chiefs host the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday in their next chance to clinch a playoff spot. Swift and Kelce’s relationship has brought the singer’s fans into the NFL’s fandom due to intense public interest about her personal life.
Kelce was seen hanging out with Scott Swift, Taylor’s dad, at one of the Argentina stops of ‘The Eras Tour.’ Kelce was already considered one of the greatest tight ends in football history and a first-ballot Hall of Famer before dating Swift. Las Vegas versus Kansas City was also the fourth NFL game to be aired on Nickelodeon, with Super Bowl LVIII being the next contest to be aired on the children’s television network.
