ESPN buying NFL RedZone means ads, commercial-free football is probably gone forever

The last great sports channel has most likely bitten the dust.

The NFL RedZone revolutionized football watching, and in the process, was a major reason the league became so ridiculously dominant in the sports landscape, truly becoming America's lone pastime.

Now that ESPN has officially acquired the NFL's media assets, with the NFL RedZone being the crown jewel in the billion-dollar deal, as first reported by The Athletic, it's time to pour one out for seven hours of commercial-free football, the catchphrase that host Scott Hanson liked to brag about every Sunday.

If you recall, the RedZone experimented with a split-screen ad towards the end of last season, and viewers were apoplectic. So much so, Hanson apologized. Unfortunately, those tests will probably turn into the norm, much like the obnoxious amount of "playing through" ads you see on any golf broadcast.

RedZone is expected to be part of the ESPN direct-to-consumer service, which launches in the coming weeks at a price of $29.99 per month. It's unclear how this deal will affect other bundles like YouTube's NFL Sunday Ticket, which includes RedZone at $420 for the season.

It's just the latest instance of de-bundling now costing more than the bundle that was cable, which consumers left en masse because of the high prices and streamers like Netflix.

BREAKING: The NFL just sold RedZone to ESPN in a multi-billion dollar deal, and it’s gonna change how fans watch football forever.

▪️ ESPN is launching a new $29.99/month app with all its channels, games, and now RedZone
▪️ The NFL is expected to get up to 10% equity in ESPN
▪️… pic.twitter.com/gFCfeTTQ5O
— IG: NFLPreme (@premefootball) August 1, 2025