Who's Tired of Taylor? CBS Says Sunday's Chiefs-vs.-Ravens Matchup Was Its Most Watched AFC Championship Game Ever

Taylor Swift at 2024 AFC Championship Game
Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs celebrates with Taylor Swift after defeating the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game at M&T Bank Stadium on January 28, 2024 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Image credit: Getty Images)

CBS said Tuesday that it averaged more than 55 million viewers for Sunday's playoff matchup featuring the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs beating the Baltimore Ravens. The network also said that was its biggest ever audience for an AFC Championship game. 

The network said its previous high for the conference title game came back in January 2011, when an average of 54.850 million viewers tuned in to watch the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the New York Jets. 

CBS' announcement came as FOX (broadcaster of Sunday's NFC title clash between the San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions) also beat its chest, noting an all-time best average audience of 44.7 million for its three combined January NFC playoff games. 

As Taylor Swift once again stood in the press box to cheer on her boyfriend, Chiefs perennial All Pro tight end Travis Kelce, CBS was (relatively) restrained in its camera cutaways to observe the billionaire and Grammy-winning singer-songwriter.

Meanwhile, as CBS prepares to broadcast Super Bowl LVIII t Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Feb. 11, with the Chiefs taking on the 49ers, pundits in a perpendicular media universe are grappling with what it all means:

Daniel Frankel

Daniel Frankel is the managing editor of Next TV, an internet publishing vertical focused on the business of video streaming. A Los Angeles-based writer and editor who has covered the media and technology industries for more than two decades, Daniel has worked on staff for publications including E! Online, Electronic Media, Mediaweek, Variety, paidContent and GigaOm. You can start living a healthier life with greater wealth and prosperity by following Daniel on Twitter today!