Even after beating the Cleveland Browns during the regular season opener, the Bengals announced on Saturday that ticket sales are so poor for the lead-up to the home opener, the game won't be sold out in time to avoid a blackout. League rules require teams to sell out 72 hours prior to kickoff with possible 24-hour extensions of a sellout is close.

The ticket office confirmed too many tickets remain available for the game to sell out, so it won't be televised in the home market cities of Cincinnati, Dayton, Ohio, and Lexington, Ky.  Tickets can be obtained by calling the Bengals Ticket Hotline at 513-621-8383 (or toll free at 1-866-621-8383), or by going to bengals.com.

It will be the fifth straight blackout during the regular season dating back to last year. A blackout means that anyone within the 75-mile radius from Paul Brown Stadium won't be able to see the September 25 game against the San Francisco 49ers on network television or the NFL Sunday Ticket.