Packers, Bengals, Colts scramble to avoid blackout
The NFL gave the Indianapolis Colts, Green Bay Packers and Cincinnati Bengals a 24-hour extension on Thursday to sell the remaining tickets for weekend wild-card playoff games or face a local and online television blackout.
Each of the three teams has until Friday afternoon to sell approximately 3,000 tickets.
The Colts play host to the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday and the Bengals face the San Diego Chargers on Sunday in the AFC. The Packers entertain the San Francisco 49ers in an NFC game on Sunday.
The last playoff blackout came 12 years ago for a Miami Dolphins home game against the Baltimore Ravens.
Cincinnati-area restaurant owner Jeff Ruby challenged local businesses to buy the remaining tickets for the Bengals-Chargers matchup. He purchased 100 tickets to donate to military families through the Armed Forces Ticket Association.
"It's important for local business leaders to support the Cincinnati Bengals as they play their first Playoff home game so we can leverage the national and local television attention on our city," Ruby said, according to WCPO.com. "I challenge other local CEOs to purchase a block of 100 tickets to share with their employees or non-profits like AFTA so we can avoid the blackout."
