The NFL engaged in an advertising campaign ahead of its 2023 regular season where a session was taking place to author a script. WFAN host Jerry Recco wonders just how believable that campaign was.
With some skeptic fans claiming that everything that takes place in the league is predetermined prior to kickoff, the league presumably decided to play off of the idea for a creative spot with cameo appearances from several NFL players. One storyline that many people did not seem to see coming, however, was in the frequent attendance of award-winning singer and songwriter Taylor Swift, who is in a relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
Although the team has been struggling of late, the presence of Swift at the games is ostensibly being viewed as a net positive for the league. Nationally televised games where she made an appearance were being scrutinized about how often they would show her early on. Moreover, FOX Sports sideline reporter Erin Andrews was being lauded as the potential catalyst for the romance, pleading Swift to give Kelce a chance over the summer on her podcast, Calm Down, with network colleague Charissa Thompson.
Swift was once again present in a suite from GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium to witness the team’s Christmas Day matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders, ending in a 20-14 defeat. Analysis of the Chiefs’ play of late pins many of their struggles on the offense, specifically on receivers who are unable to consistently catch passes thrown by quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Despite the recent shortcomings, the game remained a draw on television with an average of 29.2 million viewers across CBS and Nickelodeon, the most-watched NFL game on Christmas Day since 1989. Ratings from Nielsen Media Research began implementing augmented tracking of out-of-home (OOH) viewing and integrating the metric into national television ratings beginning in September 2020.
“The whole country lost its mind when Taylor Swift began showing up at football stadiums,” Jerry Recco said Wednesday morning on WFAN. “I felt as if she showed up in Kansas City on Christmas and it was like, ‘Meh.’ I feel like it’s over – not her popularity; I don’t mean that – [but] I feel like the whole world watching because she’s showing up [is over].”
“Yeah, I never really quite bought into that,” replied Chris Lopresti, who was filling in the morning time slot. “I think early on, the appeal was for the Swifties; it’s like they’re tracking her every movements, right? I don’t think the football fan was tuning in because of Taylor Swift.”
Earlier in the year, the Boomer & Gio program on WFAN and CBS Sports Network received a call from a listener explaining how fans were watching games just to get a glimpse of Taylor Swift. There were numerous instances where broadcast personnel discussed plans to implement Swift within the broadcast. In an interview with TIME for the “Person of the Year” honor, Swift remarked that she has no idea when she is being shown on the television broadcast, explaining that she is showing up to support Kelce.
The eight NFL games that Swift has been in attendance at thus far – which have been televised across CBS, FOX, NBC, ABC/ESPN, and Amazon Prime Video – have an average viewership of 23.38 million. The Chiefs have a 5-3 overall record in those contests and sit at 9-6 on the year in total, good for first place in the AFC West division.
“I think there had to be a shelf life on that,” Lopresti said of Swift’s appearances leading to more viewership. “You were either going to say, ‘Hey, I kind of like watching football, so I’m going to continue to be a fan,’ or, ‘Alright, I checked in on my girl; [I saw] what she’s up to and now we move on,’ especially on Christmas Day.”
