For the first time since its inception, the beloved NFL Red Zone programming will include commercials in 2025. While fans loathed the announcement from host Scott Hanson, this will not be nearly as bad as some initially imagined.
Commercials will be introduced, as Hanson announced, but they will only be 15 seconds long and appear as a split-screen with the Red Zone broadcast, according to Front Office Sports. There will only be four ads, totaling just one minute of commercial time across the seven-hour broadcast.
NEW: NFL RedZone will include four 15-second ads over the course of seven hours for Week 1, a source tells FOS.
There will not be full-screen commercials—ads will be split-screen with RedZone.
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) September 4, 2025
Fans immediately fell in love with NFL Red Zone when it debuted in 2009. The program not only allowed viewers to keep up with every game going on each Sunday, but it also famously showed every critical possession and touchdown from every game.
Since the program was advertised as a commercial-free broadcast, fans also grew fond of Hanson's habit of starting each broadcast by saying, “Seven hours of commercial-free football starts now!” Hanson confirmed that his iconic introduction will now be, “Seven hours of Red Zone football start now.”
NFL Red Zone has already incorporated a few split-screen ads, meaning the change will have a minimal impact on the viewing experience.
NFL Red Zone experiencing changes ahead of 2025 season
The NFL Red Zone broadcast is not going anywhere, but it has endured multiple changes over the last few months. In addition to including ads, the popular program was recently acquired by ESPN.
ESPN received the broadcast rights to NFL Network and NFL Red Zone on Aug. 5. The change will not be implemented for a couple of years, and nothing about its structure is expected to change. The NFL sold both programs to ESPN for an equity share.
Both programs will be a part of ESPN's upcoming new streaming platform. The network is rebranding its ESPN+ service and will soon launch a new service that will encompass all of its products.
Although the NFL Network and NFL Red Zone will fall under the ESPN umbrella, they continue to run as their own entities. Both programs will be available on ESPN channels, but will feature their own unique formatting, shows, and analysts, separate from the generic ESPN broadcast.
