The Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills delivered another classic playoff encounter on Sunday, and it was the most-watched AFC Championship game in history.
The broadcast on CBS averaged a massive 57.4 million viewers, with the masses tuning in to watch Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen duel it out for a place in the Super Bowl. The attendance of Taylor Swift, who was at Arrowhead Stadium to watch her boyfriend Travis Kelce, was doubtless also a factor in the huge TV audience.
Swift and Kelce went public with their relationship in 2023 and the pop icon's connection to the NFL has opened up the sport to new audiences – particularly when her four-time All-Pro boyfriend is in action.
The viewership surpassed the previous record of 55.5 million, which was set last year when the Chiefs won on the road against the Baltimore Ravens.
Kansas City would grind out a 32-29 victory over the Bills, keeping hopes alive of an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl triumph. The Chiefs will face the Philadelphia Eagles on Feb. 9 in New Orleans after they defeated the Washington Commanders in the NFC title game.
The Eagles' 55-23 rout of the Commanders, in contrast, attracted an average audience of 44.2 million viewers on FOX, making it the least-watched NFC Championship game since the Los Angeles Rams beat the New Orleans Saints in 2019.
FOX's numbers on Sunday were well down on the 56.7 million average viewership for last year's NFC title clash between the San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions, albeit that game was played in primetime. However, the previous NFC Championship game played in an afternoon – the Eagles' win over the 49ers in 2023 – drew a significantly bigger average audience of 47.5 million.
The Chiefs' dynasty, though, is certainly good business for the NFL and its broadcast partners. The league has seen a huge increase in viewership for the AFC Championship game over the past five seasons, with Kansas City being involved in all five of the games.
The Chiefs' win against the Bills in 2021 had an audience of 41.8 million, and that grew to 47.9 million for Kansas City's defeat to the Cincinnati Bengals the following year. The 2023 win against the Bengals generated an average audience of 53.1 million.
Mahomes was in a reflective mood as he punched his ticket to a fifth Super Bowl in the past six seasons. He said: “It's just so hard to get to the Super Bowl and I don't take it for granted, and to do it again at Arrowhead Stadium was special,” Mahomes said. “You get that trophy on that stage and you look around here and there's not an empty seat — it's special.”