- Sunday night's Kansas City Chiefs game saw a dramatic increase in female viewership.
- The boost may be related to Taylor Swift, who is rumored to be dating tight end Travis Kelce.
Kansas City Chiefs games are getting a big boost in viewership — and it's likely not related to football at all, but to Taylor Swift.
The Chiefs game against the New York Jets on Sunday night saw the highest viewership for a Sunday TV show since the Super Bowl, according to a report from NBC Sports, which aired the game.
And the Chiefs might have Swifties to thank for the boost. Taylor Swift, who is rumored to be dating Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, attended Sunday's game at MetLife Stadium.
At its highest point, the game saw 29.4 million viewers during the second quarter, based on preliminary data from NBC Sports. That's a 22% increase from the team's Week 4 game last season, according to the report. And throughout last season, according to ESPN, NBC's Sunday Night Football averaged 19.9 million viewers — a figure well below Sunday night's count.
The biggest increases in the viewership were, perhaps not surprisingly, among women and girls.
Sunday night's game saw a 53% increase in female viewers aged 12 to 17, a 34% increase in female viewers above 35, and a 24% increase in female viewers aged 18 to 24, compared to the season-to-date average of Sunday Night Football, NBC Sports reported, citing Nielsen Fast National Figures.
Although some have speculated that the Swift-Kelce match is all a big PR stunt, NBC Sports appeared to capitalize on the pair's possible budding relationship, frequently cutting to Swift cheering on the Kansas City team from the sidelines.
And if you're one of the Swifties who recently took up an interest in football, here's a helpful guide with everything you need to know about the game.
NBC Sports and the Kansas City Chiefs did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.