Here’s How Taylor Swift Increased Travis Kelce’s Podcast Viewers by More Than 300,000 Subscribers

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's relationship created huge buzz amid the NFL season. The lovebirds united the Swifties and Kelce fans as they rooted for the celebrity couple. When rumors initially surfaced in September about the acclaimed pop star's romantic involvement with Kelce, tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs, fans eagerly sought further details.

Some people sought insights from Kelce's video podcast, New Heights, which he co-hosts with his brother Jason, the starting center for the Philadelphia Eagles, every week. When the pop star made her debut appearance at her first Chiefs game, the ensuing excitement resulted in a notable 50% surge in viewership for the show per Bloomberg. A month later, the brothers' YouTube channel experienced significant growth, gaining 350,000 subscribers, according to Mack Sovereign, EVP of content and strategy at Wave Sports + Entertainment, the media company behind the program. ​

"The cool thing is that there’s been a lot of retention of that audience. And when we look through the comments, or you go to New Heights’ Reddit page, a lot of the organic interaction between fans of the show is Swifties who didn’t know about football, who are like, ‘I actually really like football now, and it’s nice that Jason and Travis are taking time in the show to explain what a field goal is,’" Sovereign said. 

New Heights premiered last year and it marked Wave's first venture into developing original content. Since then, the company has expanded its portfolio to include Podcast P featuring NBA player Paul George, as well as RG3 & The Ones with former Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III. Additionally, Wave recently added former ESPN commentator Bomani Jones' podcast The Right Time to its roster. 

Adding further, Sovereign said, "Just because an athlete might be amazing at shooting three-pointers and have a lot of fans for that, it doesn't necessarily make them an interesting person. That’s a new skill they have to develop. There’s gonna be times when everything’s going great. Travis Kelce won the Super Bowl last year, so it’s easy for him to jump on the podcast on Tuesday and talk about how awesome that was. But for his brother, who’s on the losing side of that game, at his professional low, he has also got to be willing to get in there and be vulnerable and talk to the audience." 

"That relatability, that openness, touching on topics of your humanity outside of whatever sport you play, is a good recipe," he continued. With Swift's podcast involvement and Drake's role in propelling video podcaster Bobbi Althoff to viral success, it appears that the music industry, which faces challenges in finding effective marketing channels for its artists, still has the power to elevate podcasts.