Taylor Swift helps propel Super Bowl ratings to highest ever

It was always predicted that the Super Bowl was going to be a very big deal this year, but nobody realized just how big. The first viewership figures are now coming out, and Taylor Swift’s effect on the game had colossal ripples on attracting new eyeballs to the NFL — particularly overseas.

A record 123.4M people in the United States tuned in to the game, beating the previous record which was set in 2023 by the Chiefs and Eagles with 115M. It’s difficult to attribute this domestic increase solely to Swift’s presence at the game, but it’s a different story in other parts of the world.

A total of 10M people watched the game in Canada, which is a new viewership record for our neighbors to the north. The game now becomes of the the five highest-watched english language programs in the history of the country.

Australia saw perhaps the most ludicrous jump. Viewership in Australia jumped to a record 2.7M — up 138 percent on last year. This is particularly ridiculous when you factor in that the game was airing live at noon on Monday, because of the time difference.

More numbers are coming in now, particularly from Europe. It’s unclear how much those ratings saw a boost in 2024, largely due to the time difference. The game was played after midnight in a variety of territories, which typically limits its impact.

This is the future the NFL wants. Global sports domination. It doesn’t necessarily make sense for people outside the USA to care about football, but the cultural influence of the Super Bowl makes it an event to watch — even if you don’t care about football itself.

The next goal for the league: Beat the moon landing, and they’re coming close.

This is the NFL’s world, and we’re living in it.

This post was originally published on SBNation