Starting Sunday, NFL RedZone will be making a major change to its weekly coverage, much to the chagrin of fans.
For years, RedZone has been known for its commercial-free format. Host Scott Hanson’s beloved catchphrase–“seven hours of commercial football”–kicks off the start of every broadcast.
But this fall, the channel will feature ads, which Hanson confirmed during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” Wednesday afternoon.
“The business folks handle the business, and I have no say over different elements that could or could not be in the show,” Hanson told McAfee before promising that the network would not sacrifice any important highlights for the sake of advertising.
Give us a preview of what it’s gonna sound like on Sunday @ScottHanson #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/fyRcAnoqlQ
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) September 3, 2025
Hanson even debuted his new catchphrase ahead of this weekend.
“Ladies and gentlemen, it’s been more than 250 days since the first full NFL Sunday, but we’re back. And seven hours of RedZone football starts now,” he said.
Fans are staunchly anti-commercials
Not surprisingly, many people are unhappy with the change, and have voiced their opinions on social media.
“What’s the point of me buying RedZone if [there ‘s] commercials? I’m paying for the no commercials and non stop NFL action,” one fan commented on X/Twitter.
“We as a people should all agree to never buy anything advertised on NFL Redzone,” another person said. “Thus forcing all those advertisers to stop and ensuring a commercial free Redzone once again!”
“NFL has fans over a barrel. Doesn’t matter what morally reprehensible things they do to RedZone. They could play a full minute of commercials after every touchdown. We’d still pay for it and watch it every week. We’re hooked and they know it,” said former Auburn beat writer Josh Vitale.
“We must come together and boycott anyone who advertises during this precious time,” a fourth person wrote.
“First stream east… now this?” a fifth person added.
We’d expect the backlash to grow in fervor once the games start Sunday.
Not RedZone’s first foray into commercials
This is actually not the first time RedZone has introduced some form of advertising to its audience.
At the end of last season, the channel experimented with running commercials on screen simultaneously with game footage. Even though the ads were audio-free, viewers were up in arms.
Hanson even had to apologize for using his typical “commercial-free” catchphrase on one of the broadcasts, because it was technically inaccurate.
“I just wanted to take a quick second and apologize for using the commercial-free catchphrase at the top of last show. I was conflicted about it beforehand, I had a tough decision to make, and I made the wrong decision, and I’m sorry,” Hanson said at the time.
“I try to be the best host I can possibly but being a great host means being accurate, being truthful and having integrity ,and so I hope you consider accepting this apology.”
