Taylor Swift's presence at Chiefs game has captivated some and enflamed others. She's become something of a fixture at Kansas City games, standing a few leagues above the action as it unfolds on the marshes.
Her standing as the NFL's highest-profile attendee is certainly a polarizing topic. On one hand, it has coincided with a mammoth increase in the number of women watching the games. On the other, there's been a vocal cadre of mostly men frustrated with Swift's apparent foray into America's Game.
Many will point to the snapshots showcasing Swift's silhouette at games as evidence that she's been featured too frequently on broadcasts. They'll argue that such images take away from the sport itself — and all of its brutal, elegant glory.
Just how legitimate is that critique? The New York Times tested out such a hypothesis on Tuesday, conducting an investigation to determine just how often Swift features during Kansas City games. The answer may surprise you.
MORE: Who is Kristin Juszczyk? Meet the designer behind Taylor Swift's Kelce jacket
How much screen time does Taylor Swift get during Chiefs' broadcasts?
Not too much, as it turns out. According to The New York Times' Benjamin Hoffman, Swift receives just 0.46 percent of available screen time during the games she attends.
🚨| An official report reveals that Taylor Swift only receives an estimate of 0.46% of screen time during the games she attends! pic.twitter.com/iJGOax5JpW
— The Eras Tour (@tswifterastour) January 28, 2024
That's probably a smaller number than you first imagined. Much of that is due to the novelty of Swift and Kelce's relationship wearing off. Remember the first few weeks of Swift and Kelce's budding partnership? It felt like the masses couldn't get enough of them.
That thirst for Swift updates was reflected a bit in the earliest broadcasts that followed after Swift-Kelce went public.
It's dissipated in the weeks since, however.
“It is always a balance with what’s happening on the field and how you can enhance what’s happening on the field,” said Rob Hyland, the coordinating producer for NBC's Sunday Night Football. “It wasn’t like, ‘Hey, let’s, let’s show her this many times.’ It was, ‘Hey, when appropriate, let’s remind the audience that she’s there.’”
To that end, Swift only appeared in 44 seconds worth of CBS' broadcast of the Ravens-Chiefs AFC championship game, and that was with Kelce stringing together a historic performance to lead KC to victory.
Amount of time Taylor Swift was shown on TV during this past Sunday’s Chiefs-Ravens game: 𝟰𝟰 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘀 pic.twitter.com/HYAqdjTlXz
— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) January 30, 2024
Also worth noting is 17 of those 44 seconds involved a CBS promo for the Grammy Awards — an event that Swift is expected to attend.
Maybe things aren't really as they seem. Whether people will take heed of the data provided by Hoffman and the Times is an entirely different proposition, however.
