Taylor Swift effect contributes to record women’s Super Bowl ratings

There was not a blank space when it came to Super Bowl viewership.

As was announced on Monday, Super Bowl 2024 averaged 123.4 million viewers on CBS platforms, a record not just for the Super Bowl but for any event since the 1969 moon landing, and an increase of about 7 percent from last year’s 115.1 million viewers on NBC.

There were a number of factors in the viewership spike, including both the Chiefs and 49ers as legacy franchises, Patrick Mahomes as the face of the league, the overtime finish, out-of-home viewership getting tabulated in immediate Nielsen ratings and, last but perhaps not least, the Taylor Swift effect.

Swift, who is dating star Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, is perhaps the most famous person on the planet, and it is virtually indisputable that she drove an increase of casual viewers.

The Post has learned that 58.8 million women watched the Super Bowl — the most ever, and an increase of 9 percent from last year, which was greater than the aforementioned 7 percent boost in total viewership.

Women made up 47.5 percent of the total audience, the highest composition ever; the previous high was 47.1 percent for Super Bowl XLIX between the Patriots and Cardinals in 2015.

There was also a boost from last year in the younger demographics.

What we covered during Super Bowl 2024

There were 15.4 million viewers in the 12-17 demo, up 6 percent from last year, and the 18-34 demo had 23.0 million viewers, a 10 percent bump from last year.

These demos were not broken down by gender.

Between women and the 18-34 demos increasing more than the general sample, it is fair to conclude that the specter of Swift drove some casual fans to the event.

While Swift was only shown on the telecast for a total of 54 seconds, her presence bolstered the audience for what was already the singularly most-watched annual event on TV.