Taylor Swift on ‘New Heights’ Could Test Sports Podcast Ceiling

Taylor Swift’s episode of New Heights could be the most-consumed podcast episode of all time.

On Monday, the popular podcast by Jason and Travis Kelce announced the latter’s popstar girlfriend would appear on the show Wednesday evening. In the early hours of Tuesday morning, the New Heights account revealed the title of Swift’s upcoming twelfth studio album: The Life of A Showgirl.

The timing of the podcast release is out of character for the show, which typically  drops episodes in the morning, and not during NFL training camp. But just like a primetime sports game, the 7 p.m. E.T. slot could be optimal for capturing an audience of devoted Swifties.

“New Heights is already a top-ten podcast in the United States without Taylor, and I have no doubt that a Swift appearance will vault that episode into one of the most consumed podcast episodes ever,” Tom Webster of the podcast industry publication Sounds Profitable tells Front Office Sports. Webster says it “wouldn’t surprise” him if Swift’s New Heights episode surpassed Donald Trump’s October appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, which has been viewed 59 million times on YouTube.

Podcast data isn’t easily accessible. Platforms like Spotify and Apple Podcasts appear to apply different criteria to their charts, with some rewarding recency more than others. For example, on Tuesday morning, the Chiefs tight end and his retired Super Bowl-winning brother had the No. 1 most popular show on Apple Podcasts, but only the ninth-most popular sports podcast on Spotify. New Heights, like most podcasts, does not release download data. 

Many podcasts including New Heights have shifted to a video model, blurring the line between podcasts and TV shows but at least providing a consistent viewership count through YouTube data. The show’s most-watched episode on YouTube, from September 2023 with Jason Kelce’s wife Kylie, has 8.6 million views. Dozens of episodes have eclipsed the 1 million view mark, with the most popular ones featuring guests like Patrick Mahomes, Julian Edelman, the Kelces’ parents, Shannon Sharpe, Andy Reid, Charles Barkley, and Jalen Hurts. (The episode with Caitlin Clark has 1.2 million views.)

While that popularity was enough to land the Kelces a reported $100 million podcast deal, there are a few podcasts that are much larger. Several episodes of the Joe Rogan Experience have tens of millions of views on YouTube, with the most popular sitting at 64 million. 

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the Saudi podcast Fnjan holds the record for the most-viewed podcast episode on YouTube with 144 million views and counting. Another notable episode is Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay interview with comedian Katt Williams, which has 90 million YouTube views to date.

If 144 million is the number to beat, Swifties could certainly get it there. The singer’s own YouTube page has billions of views for several music videos. But perhaps the real reason it could beat the record isn’t the mere presence of Swift, but the fact that she rarely sits for an interview, and has not appeared on a podcast since 2019, much less one with her famous NFL boyfriend and his brother.

Combined with the album release, the episode will instantly become serious fodder for content-starved Swift obsessives, of which there are, conservatively, millions.

(Podcasts are not the highest-performing content on YouTube; children’s content and viral music videos can reach billions of views.)

Nick Cicero, the founder of analytics company Mondo Metrics, tells FOS that it’s not just about the YouTube views. He says the podcast will have a “ginormous ripple effect,” and foresees “thousands upon thousands” of pieces of content such as articles, clips, and fan edits stemming from the podcast.

New Heights is the singer’s latest foray into the world of football, appearing on one of the sport’s most popular podcasts. When Swift first began attending games in support of Kelce, she provided an immediate business boon to the league.

Viewership grew among young women, as did genuine love by Swifties for the Chiefs and the NFL at large. As Kelce’s jersey surged in popularity, so did searches for vintage Chiefs merchandise similar to what Swift wore, and designers capitalized on the craze by scrambling to make custom outfits for Swift.