"SUPER" SURVEY: 20% ROOTED FOR CHIEFS DUE TO TAYLOR

Could the omnipresence of Taylor Swift have helped drive the 2/11 Super Bowl to all-time record viewership? According to Nielsen, 123.4m people watched the game between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs on CBS, Paramount+, Nickelodeon, Univision, CBS Sports and NFL+, surpassing the then-record 115.1m tally achieved last year.

Of course, that was before Swift began dating Chiefs star Travis Kelce and attending his games, where she has naturally been featured on-camera ever since. After jetting to Las Vegas from an Eras Tour run in Japan, she was front and center again on Sunday, partying in a suite with Ice Spice and Blake Lively and then smooching Kelce on the field after the Chiefs defeated the 49ers 25-22 in overtime.

As if we didn't already know, the Swiftie Effect is real: per a study conducted by consumer research firm Numerator, 20% of viewers said they favored Kansas City in the Super Bowl simply because of Swift and Kelce's relationship.

While the NFL and CBS aren't directly crediting Swift’s involvement for the increase in eyeballs, the content they delivered in-game and post-game on social media said otherwise. Recent reports found Swift generating $330m+ in "brand value" for the Chiefs and the NFL via TV, print, digital and social-media reach since Tay attended her first game on 9/24/23. Kelce’s jersey sales have also increased 400%.

Swift's sudden role in NFL-adjacent discourse has naturally inspired some doubters, with 34% of survey respondents saying they "somewhat" or "completely" agreed that the pop star "is a distraction for the NFL." 32% neither agreed nor disagreed with that position, while 34% "somewhat" or "completely" disagreed.

In the same Numerator study, 82% said they watched USHER's Super Bowl Halftime Show performance and 19% claimed they paid "little to no attention" at all to the game The best-received commercial was a Dunkin Donuts' spot with Jennifer Lopez, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Tom Brady, which was chosen by 29%.

As for HITS, we're just thrilled Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito are back together after all these years.