Are you ready for some pure NFL goodness? NFL RedZone is a premium football channel on steroids where you can watch only the best plays, tackles, and touchdowns. This channel has completely revamped the way hardcore fans watch football games. It’s unique because, as the name suggests, it shows only games that are inside the red zone.
If you are after a constant rush of adrenaline, then look no further because NFL RedZone will throw you around from game to game and give you only the action-filled stuff. That means you can watch more than one game at a time and skip uneventful parts.
The best thing about RedZone — no commercial breaks. Get a drink and sit back to enjoy the experience of uninterrupted football streaming.
Now that you are hooked and intrigued, let’s dig deeper and find out why die-hard football fans can’t give up NFL RedZone once they start watching it.
What Is NFL RedZone?
If you are a proud NFL junkie, RedZone is a dream come true for you. This channel has changed the way fans watch their favorite games.
If you’ve ever wanted to skip the boring parts of a ball game and jump straight to the most interesting tackles and touchdowns, NFL RedZone is the channel for you. Basically, it promises to show you “every touchdown, from every game” (that’s their official slogan) of the regular NFL season. But, you get more than just touchdowns.
Coverage of the games is simultaneously broadcast or “simulcast.” This means that, with RedZone, you can watch coverage of all Sunday afternoon games at the same time and in one place. The game feeds are curated by the channel’s producers who monitor all live games and throw them up on the screen when they enter the red zone — the area between the 20-yard line and the goal line.
If more than one game enters the red zone, you’ll get a split-screen with all red zone plays being shown simultaneously on your screen. Sometimes, you’ll see a quad box for four games, a penta box for five simultaneous red zone plays, or as many as eight boxes.
Basically, you won’t miss a thing. Show off among your friends — it’s OK — because you’ll know everything that has happened during every game.
How Does NFL RedZone Work?
The concept is simple. As you know, usually, there are multiple games happening on a given day. You can catch the action over at CBS, NBC, FOX, or ESPN. But, if you don’t want to switch between channels yourself and potentially miss some key moments while you are channel surfing, RedZone will do all the heavy lifting for you.
The channel’s producers will closely follow all live broadcasts at the same time. When the game enters the red zone, they will throw you right into it. That way, you’ll get a taste of each game so that you know what’s going on. However, if you want to watch the full game, you’ll have to switch to the channel that’s broadcasting it.
The NFL RedZone channel is on-air for seven hours and broadcasts only Sunday afternoon games. After each live broadcast, you’ll get a montage of the best touchdowns, and then the channel will go black until next Sunday.
However, it’s important to note that RedZone is not available on any Saturday night or during Sunday night games. It’s also off-air on Monday nights and Thursday nights. NFL International Series are not included either. Finally, don’t count on watching any Thanksgiving or post-season games on RedZone.
Will Games Be Interrupted by Annoying Commercials?
The answer to this question is simple — absolutely not. RedZone is a premium football channel that doesn’t show commercials. So, you can count on hours and hours of pure adrenaline-pumping field action.
Because the games are rebroadcast live from CBS, FOX, and other networks, when the original broadcast goes to a commercial break, RedZone will simply switch to the next most interesting game that’s in progress.
The only kind of interruption that you will get on RedZone is brief commentary from the host Scott Hanson. Most RedZone subscribers have taken a liking to him, so his commentary won’t seem like an interruption.
What Happens If No Game Enters the Red Zone?
Imagine this scenario. Your favorite team is playing their biggest rival. You know the game is supposed to be on, but you are watching RedZone instead of the original network broadcast.
If the game doesn’t enter the red zone for a long time, you’ll miss most of the game. As RedZone is a channel dedicated to plays only inside the red zone, you won’t see the back-and-forth action between teams that happens outside the red zone.
However, if no game enters the red zone, the broadcast will simply switch to brief commentary from the host or to the play that is just outside the red zone.
Don’t forget that RedZone is a commercial-free zone. So, you will watch only pure football during the weekly seven-hour broadcast, even if there is nothing happening inside the red zone. Still, this is rare.
How to Get NFL RedZone
The NFL RedZone channel comes in the form of an add-on service to your sports package. Basically, if you already have a cable or satellite plan or a streaming subscription, you can get RedZone.
You can add the RedZone channel to your sports package if you have a DISH subscription. However, if you are a DIRECTV subscriber, you’ll probably feel frustrated because the NFL RedZone channel is available only with their Max option of the NFL Sunday Ticket. The Max plan costs close to $400.
On the flip side, DIRECTV offers its alternative to the NFL RedZone — The Red Zone Channel. Don’t let the similar names confuse you. They might be similar, but those are two totally different channels.
As for cable providers, most of them carry the NFL RedZone channel and offer it as an add-on to their sports packages.
If you don’t have a cable or satellite subscription, don’t sweat it because RedZone is available on numerous streaming services as well. Some of the best streaming services that include RedZone are fuboTV, Sling TV, and PlayStation Vue.
Comparing NFL RedZone to NFL Sunday Ticket
DIRECTV is the exclusive distributor of NFL Sunday Ticket. That means that you can’t get NFL Sunday Ticket through any other TV provider, except DIRECTV.
Ultimately, it’s a must-have for only the biggest football fans and fantasy football players because the price is pretty steep for regular folks. A subscription to NFL Sunday Ticket will cost you close to $300 for one season.
On the other hand, if you are a fantasy football player, NFL RedZone will also have your back, but at a much lower price and with fewer features. Basically, RedZone is the next best thing after NFL Sunday Ticket.
Two main differences between NFL Sunday Ticket and NFL RedZone are the number of available features and the price.
While NFL RedZone is a standalone channel that is on only during regular games, NFL Sunday Ticket is a full-featured football television platform that is geared towards the most dedicated fans.
Here’s a more detailed list of the main features:
NFL RedZone
- Simulcast of out-of-market Sunday games in the red zone
- Broadcasts last only seven hours during Sunday afternoon games
- Touchdown recap montage
- No commercials
- Commentary from the host Scott Hanson
- Watch from anywhere — smartphone, tablet, or laptop
NFL Sunday Ticket
- Keep an eye on every out-of-market game
- Get real-time scores and statistics
- Track players with the “Player Tracker” feature
- Watch eight games at the same time
- Rewind and replay games right after the live broadcast
- Commercial-free
- Costs $300 for only one football season
Are There Blackouts on RedZone?
There is nothing more irritating than a game blackout. If you’ve ever experienced it, it essentially means that broadcasters and the NFL are more cash-oriented than fan-oriented.
Luckily, you don’t have to play along if you are a RedZone subscriber. You’ll get all the highlights of the biggest plays without having to worry about blackouts. Because RedZone only shows “look-ins” and not the full game, it’s exempt from any blackout policies, regardless of where you live.
How Much Does NFL RedZone Cost?
The NFL RedZone channel will cost you anywhere from $8.99 to $13 monthly. The price varies with different TV providers.
To get access to RedZone, you’ll first have to purchase a sports package or an add-on from your provider. That way, you’ll get access to numerous sports channels and the RedZone channel, which will keep you entertained during the whole year.
Ultimately, it’s best to check with your provider to see which packages include the RedZone channel and at what price. Keep in mind that some providers offer it only in their most expensive sports packages.
Plans Overview
If you happen to be a DISH subscriber, you’ll pay for RedZone a couple of dollars more compared to other services. To get RedZone on DISH, you’ll need a subscription to their America’s Top 120+ package with the Multi-Sport Pack as an add-on. With that combination, RedZone will cost you an additional $13 a month.
XFINITY’s pricing is a bit lower. With their Digital Starter package, RedZone comes as an added bonus on top of the Sports Entertainment Package at a monthly price of $9.99.
If you are more into streaming or if you don’t have a cable or satellite subscription, you can get the RedZone channel with the most popular streaming services as well.
For Sling TV subscribers, RedZone is available with their Sling Blue and Sling Orange + Blue packages. To get all the best sports channels, make sure you have their Sports Extra add-on so that you can get RedZone for $10.
The pricing is the same as with the PlayStation Vue streaming service. If you have their Core package or above, and the Sports Pack as an add-on, you can purchase RedZone for 10 dollars a month.
Lastly, the cheapest option is RedZone on fuboTV. Just get their Sports Plus add-on added to your regular subscription and buy RedZone for $8.99 a month.
By all means, this is not a complete list, and the prices might be different now. If you have another TV provider, check their website or call to ask them how you can get access to RedZone.
Dominating Your Fantasy Football League
Tens of millions of people play fantasy football. If you are one of them, RedZone will have you glued to the screen for hours. It’s everything you’ve ever dreamed of, truly. If you’re the type of person with a short attention span that loves small market teams and doesn’t want to buy five beers every Sunday, look no further.
Well, maybe the beer part of that sentence is not so true, but you get the point.
Like most fantasy football players, you generally care about the scoring drive and big plays. RedZone makes it possible for you to keep tabs on all your fantasy players and catch all the most important moments of every game.
You’ll get all your fantasy football news and statistics at the bottom of the screen.
NFL RedZone Review: The Bottom Line
Once you get RedZone, you will be instantly hooked for hours on end. It’s an action-only channel filled with adrenaline-inducing and heart-pumping plays in the coveted red zone. Are you tired of switching channels to check on other games happening at the same time? If your answer is yes, RedZone will solve that problem for you.
Let them do the channel switching. You just sit back and enjoy the action. With RedZone, you will get live updates on all games by sporadically jumping from one stadium to the next.
In addition, this premium sports channel geared towards hardcore fans has received rave reviews online. It’s also a favorite among fantasy football players.
On top of all that, the price is affordable. Get RedZone for as low as $8.99 and watch every touchdown from every single out-of-market game. Most cable and satellite providers offer it as an add-on to their sports packages. But, if you don’t have a cable or satellite subscription, just sign up for one of the most popular streaming services and watch the action on the go.