When it came time for NBC to promote their broadcast of Sunday night’s hotly anticipated match-up between the Kansas City Chiefs and the New York Jets, the network went all-in on promoting the Taylor Swift angle — and it seems to have been worth the effort.
Swift came out to support her rumored beau, Travis Kelce, and NBC made sure everyone knew she’d be there. They had Taylor-themed promos, a segment featuring Carson Daly and The Voice explaining football to Swifties, and more than a few cutaways and references to the songstress throughout the night.
Now, a day later, NBC is reaping the rewards with a massive ratings boost.
NBC’s broadcast of the surprisingly close game reportedly averaged 27 million viewers, and topped off at around 29 million during the second quarter, according to Deadline.
This makes the broadcast the most-watched Sunday night game since Super Bowl LVII — in which the Chiefs beat the Eagles 38-35 — which averaged 115 million viewers.
This is technically the second-highest-rated game of the season overall after their Thursday Night season opener against the Detroit Lions garnered an average of 27.5 million viewers.
The singer was joined by a slew of famous friends — including Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman and Sophie Turner — as she came out and watched the game in a suite at the Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
She was also spotted sharing a sweet embrace around the shoulders with Travis’ mom, Donna Kelce.
The cute moment comes one week after Taylor sparked the internet’s obsession over her rumored romance with Travis when she was seen cheering him on alongside Donna at the Chiefs’ game against the Chicago Bears at Arrowhead Stadium.
For more on how NBC leveraged Taylor’s rumored romance with Travis in the days leading up to Sunday’s game, check out the video below.
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