Taylor Swift’s love story boosts NFL Sunday ratings for NBC

Singer Taylor Swift has already given the concert and movie businesses a boost. Now the NFL is getting its own version of a Taylor bump. NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” drew an audience of 27 million viewers, up 22% from a year ago, as the rumored relationship between Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce pulled in additional fans. That included 2 million more women, the network said Monday. More: Inside the NFL’s Taylor Swift era Sign up for Ad Age newsletters From influencer marketing to agencies, get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox Click here It’s the second weekend in a row that Swift’s presence in the luxury box of an NFL game has been credited with delivering publicity for the league. She also turned out to see Kelce and the Chiefs beat the Chicago Bears a week earlier, sitting with Kelce’s mom, Donna. Also: Donna Kelce and Jake from State Farm spoof the hype The fan excitement has been reflected in the amount of money bet on games. Action on Kelce via DraftKings Inc. more than doubled over the weekend. The dollar value bet on Kelce’s performance on Sunday was twice his two prior games combined, according to an emailed statement from DraftKings. Rumors began to spread that he was dating Swift before his first regular season game. The most popular Kelce bets on Sunday’s game against the New York Jets by amount of money wagered were for longest reception and scoring, DraftKings said. The Chiefs beat the Jets 23-20. Kelce amassed 60 receiving yards but didn’t score. The @Chiefs are now 2-0 with @TaylorSwift13 in attendance. @NextGenStats pic.twitter.com/5lrvwQjZ1n— NFL (@NFL) October 2, 2023 The ratings and the betting illustrate the almost instantaneous and broad impact that Swift regularly has on the public. She helped to drive U.S. economic growth in the third quarter. Her presence doubled ticket sales on StubHub for the Chief’s Sunday game against the Jets. Last week’s Chiefs game against the Chicago Bears was the most-watched show of the week with 24.3 million viewers, scoring first among female audiences. Kelce’s jersey sales shot up by nearly 400%. The planned release of a film about Swift’s Eras concert tour recently moved the shares of AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. More news: Heinz, Dunkin’ and other brands weigh in on Traylor The NFL is capitalizing on Swift’s attendance. It changed the banner of its page on X, formerly known as Twitter, to show her cheering at a game, and its Instagram Inc. page biography said “chiefs are 2-0 as swifties” on Monday. She brought celebrity friends Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Sophie Turner and Hugh Jackman to MetLife Stadium on Sunday. Marketers also sought to cash in, with companies airing commercials during the game that featured Swift or Kelce. —Bloomberg News Subscribe to Ad Age Sign up now for the latest industry news and analysis Click here

Taylor Swift’s love story boosts NFL Sunday ratings for NBC

Featured Stories