The first round of the NFL playoffs will feature one of the fiercest rivalries in the league when the Baltimore Ravens (12-5) host the Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7), but there's a catch.
When the NFL announced its Wild Card Weekend schedule, the Steelers-Ravens game got the short end of the stick. It will air exclusively on Prime Video, making it the only game out of six in the opening round to be behind a paywall.
On the bright side, they got a favorable time slot, appearing in primetime at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday night. That did not quell the frustrations of disappointed fans who voiced their opinions loudly on social media after the unfortunate news.
"I miss the old days where I could simply watch the playoff game on cable," wrote a user on X.
"Too bad," responded a fan to Prime's announcement on X. "I was looking forward to watching it."
"Nobody is happy about it being on prime," said a blunt response.
All playoff games are also available with an NFL+ subscription. Some fans prefer being able to cut traditional cable and watch big games, but that option still represents a paywall for all potential viewers of the Steelers-Ravens matchup.
This phenomenon is nothing new for NFL fans. Last season, Peacock exclusively streamed a game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins on Wild Card Weekend. At the time, it set the record the most-streamed NFL game with more than 23 million average viewers.
Netflix's "NFL Christmas Gameday" broke the record by drawing over 30 million viewers in each of its two exclusive games on Dec. 25. One featured the Steelers against the Chiefs, while the Ravens took on the Texans in the second matchup.
The Ravens and Steelers each played once on Prime's "Thursday Night Football" this season, so hopefully fans of each team still have their subscription. Pittsburgh lost 24-19 to Cleveland on Nov. 21, while Baltimore beat Cincinnati 35-34 in a high-octane AFC North showdown on Nov. 7.
