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NFL Network Tries Another Free RedZone Week to Attract New Customers

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For the second time this year, multiple TV carriers provided a free preview of the NFL Network’s RedZone early in November. With more than a dozen games each weekend, NFL fans were treated to a channel that devotes its time entirely to live look-ins at every game when one of the two teams enters the red zone (the 20-yard line of their opponents).

As a subscription-only channel, RedZone offers free previews to attract more subscribers. This niche option is extremely important to both bettors and fantasy football fans, allowing both groups to track scoring totals and individual game scores without flipping through multiple channels. 

With no real costs associated with the free preview, it’s easy to see why the NFL Network offers this annually. More than a dozen online-only TV providers, as well as numerous traditional cable providers, now offer the NFL Network RedZone as a premium channel by charging roughly $11 per month for the service. 

Will the NFL Network Offer RedZone Free Preview Again This Year

For many years, the NFL Network has offered one weekend each season for individuals that do not have RedZone to preview the channel for free. This year the network upped the ante, offering selected TV providers two different free previews in September and November. 

It’s extremely doubtful that TV providers will offer a third free preview this year. More than halfway through the NFL season, providing a third free preview to non-subscriber could anger paying customers by giving away too much content while unlikely the preview would add more paying subscribers.

For individuals considering switching to or signing up with a TV service provider, fuboTV is offering a free seven-day trial of their service, including access to the NFL Network RedZone during that week-long sample. The NFL Network also provides the RedZone as a stand-alone digital offering for $34.99 each year on mobile devices.

How Many Subscribers does RedZone have

Subscriptions to RedZone are largely seasonal based on the NFL calendar. A significant majority of subscribers cancel their subscription to the channel immediately after the season when games stop competing for viewership.  

Despite its seasonality, one estimate suggests as many as 5.4 million households subscribe to RedZone. At $11 per month charged directly to consumers, the NFL Network produces roughly $175 million each year in subscription revenue for content without paying for additional TV rights. 

This increases an already gushing revenue stream for the NFL and the NFL Network. With NFL viewership on the rise from 2020 – not counting the Thursday Night Football game on Amazon – the NFL is up four percent compared to two years prior. 

Why Bettors Love RedZone

NFL enthusiasts and fantasy football lovers aren’t the only viewers that RedZone attracts. Indeed, the rise in states legalizing sports betting has led to a new viewership group: bettors. Residents in more than half the country can legally wager money on the outcome of the games as well as individual players in prop bets.

Bettors can review multiple games at one time, staying on top of all the action throughout the day. Individuals with multiple bets in games occurring at the same time can follow both games simultaneously, witnessing important game-changing action along with live commentary from in-studio talent. For example, bettors who used two risk-free bets on early afternoon NFL games can follow both games at once through cutaways to important moments within the game and know where their bet stands without changing the channel. Further, bettors can spot recent trends in scoring to help with future bets on other NFL franchises.