The New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens are familiar foes, having met three times in the postseason since 2009. Baltimore has won two of those games, though the Patriots have the home field advantage and are also a seven point favorite. Nonetheless, it’s clear this game could be a battle down to the wire and NBC will be the only who gets to capture the viewing audience.
Because ESPN televised their first NFL playoff game this year, NBC lost one of its usual Wild Card slots. But, as part of the new agreement the NFL has work for its broadcasting rights, NBC will be televising one divisional game each year, rotating between taking a Fox game or CBS game (this year, it will be CBS.)
NBC will also get the biggest event of the year in 2015 as they will be hosting the Super Bowl. For fans who don’t want to pay over $2,000 for a ticket (the cheapest Super Bowl tickets available at ticket marketplace SB Tickets,) they will be tuning in to NBC to see the NFL’s premier event on television.
For this week’s game, the average ticket price is just $336, one tenth of the average price for the Super Bowl (currently $3,350.) The cheapest tickets available start at $108, though chances are they may dip below $100 as we get closer to game time.
The Ravens are coming in off an impressive road victory against their rivals, the Pittsburg Steelers, and arguably have nothing to lose as a six seed against the top seed in the AFC. They’ve been in this position before, beating the Patriots two years ago at Gillette Stadium en route to their Super Bowl win. But New England certainly wants to prove that their 10-2 run since Week 4 was no mirage and that they are the best team in the AFC.
It should be a very exciting game this Saturday and NBC is lucky to grab this one, compared to the lackluster matchup of the Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals, which ESPN aired last Saturday.
