Several ITV viewers shared their frustrations with the channel's Super Bowl LVIII coverage just moments into Sunday's show after host Craig Doyle referred to Taylor Swift a number of times.
On Sunday night, Swift joined thousands of others at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas to cheer on her boyfriend Travis Kelce and the rest of the Kansas City Chiefs as they faced off against the San Francisco 49ers.
Swift has often attracted attention when attending her beau's matches and the Super Bowl was no different as she arrived with Blake Lively and Ice Spice at the stadium.
ITV decided to follow suit by paying reference to Swift's attendance as well - although the sheer number of references irked several viewers ahead of kick-off.
Within minutes of the coverage beginning, host Doyle had told viewers Swift was in the arena before he even teased former NFL player and pundit Jason Bell by screaming "Taylor" from their studio balcony.
Ahead of kick-off, Doyle also asked if Bell and his fellow pundits were "Swifties" and said there would be "eight cameras" on the Shake It Off singer throughout the evening.
"Taylor... TAYLOR!" 😆
— ITV Sport (@ITVSport) February 11, 2024
Craig Doyle on flames already tonight 😅#SBLVIII | #SuperBowl2024 pic.twitter.com/DJ804atoNn
It didn't take long for ITV viewers to take to X, formerly Twitter, to share their thoughts on the coverage - and it's safe to say many wanted to hear more about the two teams rather than the singer.
One person fumed: "I understand she is a huge point of interest......But ITV need to lower the Taylor Swift reference rate."
A second sarcastically said: "Me counting the number of times they mention Taylor Swift on the ITV coverage #SuperBowl #SuperBowlLVIII."
"ITV have already mentioned Taylor #SuperBowl," a third said along a series of laughing emojis while a fourth switched off altogether: "Itv 1st five minutes mentioned her name 3 times, turned off, thought it was super bowl."
Taylor Swift at the Super Bowl: The singer watched on with Ice Spice (second from left) and Blake Lively (right)
GETTY
The furore kept on coming as a fifth weighed in: "3 mins into itv’s super bowl coverage and they have mentioned taylor 4 times. She runs this s**t."
A sixth said: "The coverage from ITV for the Superbowl is awful!! More time talking about the half time show than the game so far! #itvsb58."
While another couldn't quite believe Doyle had switched the This Morning sofa for Vegas they commented: "Wtf is Craig from #ThisMorning doing hosting the #SuperBowl on ITV." (sic)
When the Chiefs took to the field ahead of kick-off, the ITV press box then suggested the boos that came from the Vegas crowd were down to Kelce and Swift's romance.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
ITV Super Bowl LVIII coverage: Craig Doyle fronted the show on Sunday night
ITV/GETTY
Swift made it to Vegas after performing in Tokyo, Japan earlier this weekend.
Her parents, Andrea and Scott Swift, also attended the match alongside the singer while she was also spotted greeting Kelce's brother Jason.
