Female Super Bowl Viewership Skyrockets Amid Taylor Swift Hype
Super Bowl LVIII set a female viewership record, and I think we all know why:
Swift was at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas to watch Travis Kelce and the Chiefs lock up another Super Bowl after beating the 49ers.
Leading up to the game, Swift dominated the news cycle. Some people loved the attention and hype, others hated it, but we all know attention moves the needle.
Turns out, Swift appears to have helped the numbers shoot up for the Super Bowl in a huge way.
Did Taylor Swift help spike female viewership for Super Bowl LVIII? (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Super Bowl LVIII sets female viewership record.
The Chiefs beating the 49ers is the most-watched telecast in TV history with more than 123 million viewers, but the data tells a much bigger story once you dig in.
A staggering 58.8 million women tuned in to watch Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and the rest of the Chiefs go to work, according to the New York Post.
That's the highest number of women to ever watch the Super Bowl, and a 9% increase from the female audience last season, according to the same report.
In total, women made up 47.5% of viewers for Super Bowl LVIII, which is another record. The league isn't just gaining ground with female viewers. It's kicking the door down.
Super Bowl LVIII sets record for female viewers. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Taylor Swift has become a gift to the NFL.
It's totally reasonable to say you're tired of hearing about Taylor Swift when it comes to the NFL. I'll be the first to admit that it's a bit over-the-top at times, but at least she's not Brittany Mahomes.
What you absolutely can't deny at this point is that the music superstar is great for the NFL's business. Do we think women all of a sudden started caring a lot more about the NFL for no reason or do we think a Chiefs star dating Swift might have had something to do with it?
It's the latter, and I'm not sure what the counter-argument would even be. The league is seeing a ratings boom, and it makes sense to lean into the Swift hype as much as possible.
This is America. We believe in capitalism in this country, and higher ratings result in a lot more money for the league. So, while many people might complain about Swift, Roger Goodell and the NFL are certainly laughing all the way to the bank. Let me know what you think at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.