Swifty Déjà Vu: Could Similar Issues Affect Chiefs’ 1st Game?

YouTube will stream Kansas City Chiefs opener Sept. 5 against Los Angeles Chargers from Brazil.

Taylor Swift | Sam Greene / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Quick, what do Taylor Swift’s first appearance on a podcast and the Chiefs’ Sept. 5 opener have in common? Well, the NFL is hoping they both don’t break the Internet.

Some fans are concerned that a similar interruption will plague the livestream when Kansas City kicks off the season in three weeks against the Chargers. More than 1.327 million on Wednesday streamed New Heights with Travis Kelce, his brother Jason, and arguably the most well-known woman in the world, Swift.

The podcast’s season premiere on YouTube apparently couldn’t handle the volume and shut down in progress after an hour and 45 minutes, shortly after Swift unveiled her newest album, The Life of a Showgirl.

Streaming interruption wasn't a YouTube issue

But a spokesperson for Google, which owns YouTube, told Sports Illustrated on Friday that the issues on Wednesday night were in no way related to YouTube. The podcast did not shut down due to the prominent video-streaming platform's ability to handle high volume.

Shoutout to the amazing team at @YouTube for helping get this fixed!!! https://t.co/XNMKzEEgLR

— New Heights (@newheightshow) August 14, 2025

That means fans need not worry when the Chiefs begin the season in Brazil against the Chargers, a game expected to exceed 20 times more than what New Heights drew during the season premiere on Wednesday.

Chiefs Sept. 5 opener is free on YouTube, YouTube TV

One night after Dallas plays Philadelphia in the traditional Thursday night NFL opener, Kansas City kicks off with Los Angeles at Corinthians Arena in São Paulo, Brazil. But unlike Game 1, the NFL’s second game is only available on YouTube and YouTube TV – for free -- outside the teams' home markets. Local stations in Kansas City and L.A. will air the game over traditional over-the-air markets, the NFL confirmed Friday.

YouTube has never streamed a live NFL game.

Sep 29, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) runs against Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Daiyan Henley (0) in the second half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Last season on Netflix

Netflix had never streamed a live NFL game until successfully executing Kansas City’s 29-10 win at Pittsburgh last Christmas Day. After that, Netflix flawlessly streamed Baltimore’s 31-2 victory over Houston. While neither game was exciting, the doubleheader still drew an average audience topping 26.5 million in the United States, and 30 million-plus across the world.

Dec 25, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (middle) and tight end Travis Kelce (right) open their Netflix Christmas GameDay cake after the Chiefs defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Front Office Sports reported that Wednesday’s New Heights season premiere, as of Friday afternoon, had drawn 15 million views on YouTube and produced more than 400,000 new YouTube subscribers to the podcast. Wednesday’s edition also has drawn 379 million viewers on Instagram, 61.6 million on X, and 34.5 million on TikTok.

Swift concluded her worldwide Eras Tour after 149 shows that drew more than 10.1 million spectators. In 21 months, she covered 21 countries on five continents in 51 cities, and did it while somehow finding time to orchestrate her new album.

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