NFL RedZone host Scott Hanson likes to welcome fans to each Sunday’s broadcast by telling them they’re getting “seven hours of commercial-free football.” Yesterday, that wasn’t true.
The NFL showed four short commercials during Sunday’s RedZone broadcast, with viewers seeing a split screen of a commercial and a game, and the audio of the commercial playing. Fans were not happy, as evidenced by social media complaints about commercials detracting from the viewing experience.
NFL Media confirmed to Sportico.com that Sunday was viewed as a test run for commercials, which could become a regular part of RedZone during the 2025 season.
RedZone has become enormously popular with the kinds of hard-core football fans, fantasy players and bettors who want to keep an eye on every game at once. And it has become popular in part because it’s commercial free: As soon as one game goes into a commercial break, RedZone viewers are switched to another game. At least until yesterday, when one of the key selling points for RedZone went away, so that RedZone could sell commercials.