Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Sports
Sports

NFL Ratings Are Down By 4 Million As Fans Seem To Be Experiencing Taylor Swift Fatigue On The Field and In Households Across The Country

By | Published on October 3, 2023
CommentsComments (0) Add as a preferred source on Google i

NFL fans are speaking with their attention, and it seems they are getting tired of the over-communicated romance between music superstar Taylor Swift and two-time Super Bowl champion, Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce.

Monday night, the Chiefs took on the New York Jets in the MetLife Stadium telecast of NBC’s Sunday Night Football, fetched 20.31 million viewers for the matchup. While the number overall was the largest viewership on television Sunday night this, it is 4 million fewer viewers than the previous Sunday’s Chiefs game, which drew 24.32 million in an afternoon slot.

It seems NFL fans and media (L) are getting tired of the over-communicated romance between music superstar Taylor Swift (R) and Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce, as ratings for the Chiefs-Jets game dipped by 4 million viewers. (Photo: Screenshot TMZ/Screenshot NFL on YouTube)

The Sept. 24 game versus the Chicago Bears, which yielded the 41-10 victory for the team, was home at Arrowhead Stadium and the first appearance of Taylor Swift at a Chiefs game with rumors of her dating Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Since then, Swift has been believed to be a new totem for increased football cachet and economic development.

Swiftie Or Football?

Swift’s appearance in the Arrowhead suite put her as part of the show, with the television broadcast of the game even replaying Swift’s celebrations in slow motion after good Chiefs plays. As a result, Swift’s appearance came before an almost three-fold increase in sales in 24 hours for Chiefs home games on StubHub.

Digital streaming company Roku told Reuters that the “largest demographic increase for the Chiefs-Bears game was among women ages 18-49, jumping 63% week-over-week, even as the NFL has long enjoyed a roughly 50% female audience.”

Related: Clout Chase Much? Travis Kelce’s Reality Show Ex-Girlfriend Warns Taylor Swift About His “Narcissism”

Fast-forward to last Sunday, and the ticket sales went off, according to StubHub, with single-day sales more than doubling the previous record for this season, rivaling only the team’s opening game debut of star quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Swift’s appearance also preceded an almost three-time increase in sales in 24 hours for Chiefs home games on the StubHub platform.

Read More on The Shadow League: NFL Ratings Are Down By 4 Million! Fans Experiencing Taylor Swift Fatigue As Travis Kelce Dating Through Line Overshadows Game

Subscribe To The ABS Newsletter — Get our stories in your inbox.

Independent journalism still matters.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Latest from Atlanta Black Star

Back to top