CBS Sports exec Sean McManus comments on network's coverage of Taylor Swift ahead of Super Bowl LVIII

Get ready to discuss the hottest topic in the country. Are the networks showing too much Taylor Swift or not enough? And will the world’s biggest pop star be a significant part of CBS’ Super Bowl coverage.

Sean McManus, the CBS sports chair, gave reporters a hint this week as to the network’s plans for the NFL’s biggest game. They’re going to keep it status quo. However, it’s like a psychological Rorschach test. One big ink bat may be another person’s blotchy butterfly. In other words, too much Taylor is never enough.

Although social media complaints seem to suggest that there are too many shots of Swift cheering on boyfriend Travis Kelce, the actual, total footage is less than a minute. That’s for an entire game. Although everything involved in Super Bowl coverage every year is big and bloated, 32 to 40 seconds of Swift seems so minimal.

“I think we’ve done it in a way that has not been intrusive at all,” McManus told reporters on a media call.

First things first: will Taylor Swift even attend Super Bowl?

This is all assuming that Swift will be in a suite at Allegiant Stadium for the Super Bowl. Her Eras concert tour is restarting this coming week with four concert dates in Tokyo. Her final one in Tokyo is the night before the Super Bowl. But fortunately, she’s got time zones on her side. There’s a 17-hour time difference between Tokyo and Las Vegas. That’s plenty of time to catch a private jet to Sin City.

What’s it mean? If the Chiefs win the Super Bowl for the second straight year, count on the Swift coverage to surpass one minute. After all, the two were on the field together last Sunday after Kansas City beat Baltimore to clinch a spot in the big game. Their embrace prompted some betting sites to establish odds on whether Kelce will drop to one knee and propose to Swift, his girlfriend of five months.

What a moment for @tkelce. ❤️@insidetheNFL Tuesdays 8/7c on @TheCW pic.twitter.com/RUPhTd7XjT

— NFL (@NFL) January 29, 2024

By the way, all these Taylor Swift-to-the-Super-Bowl stories have prompted another line of reporting. Will her pilot find a place to park the private jet? The Associated Press reported that there are 475 parking spaces for private planes in the Vegas area. And they’re already reserved. The same thing happened last fall when Vegas played host to a Formula One race. Jet parking was at capacity.

And if Swift does find a parking space, it’ll be interesting to see if the viewing audience for the Super Bowl spikes any higher. After all, the Chiefs-Ravens drew a TV audience of 55.473 million, making it the most-watched AFC title game in NFL history. The Super Bowl, based on last year’s numbers, should be twice that size. But maybe the Swifties will add to that number, even if they see their favorite singer for only a smattering of seconds.