The NFL attempted to quell some of the uproar over the news that “NFL RedZone” will have ads this season, as multiple reports stated that the ads fans will see this year are minimal at worst.
When football fans tune in to see “RedZone” host Scott Hanson and seven hours of nonstop football, they will also reportedly see four 15-second ads that will run over the span of that time during Week 1.
It mimics what the NFL tested in December when it quietly tried out putting ads in a two-box style that had game action on the screen while the ads appeared, Front Office Sports reported.
ESPN NFL reporter Adam Schefter also chimed in on X about the details of the commercials.
“Some added clarity: NFL RedZone is seven hours — 420 minutes. Over that time, viewers will be served 1-2 total minutes of ads in :15 increments,” he wrote Thursday. “This comes out to anywhere between 0.25% – 0.5% of the total time, considerably less than other sports/entertainment programs.”
On Sunday, fans will see the game action in one box while another box shows an ad with the audio, according to the outlet.
A league spokesperson described the ad load as “incredibly small.”
“This move has been contemplated and tested for over a year now, and is completely unrelated to the recent news regarding ESPN and the NFL,” the NFL told Front Office Sports.
The reaction had been rather swift after Hanson revealed during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Wednesday that ads would be coming to the popular football program.
“When you see me come on the air,” he said, previewing his intro for Sunday. “We’re gonna hit the Octobox, we’ve got eight games in the early window, taking you around to all the different cities.
“And then when we get into it ‘Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s been more than 250 days since the first full NFL Sunday but we are back! And seven hours of ‘RedZone’ football starts now.’”
Hanson had preempted that by saying that “the business folks handle the business, and I have no say over different elements that could or could not be in the show.”
Fans reacted with anger and blamed Disney-owned sports network ESPN, even though it doesn’t own NFL Network yet.
The league and ESPN announced a deal this summer that’ll give ESPN ownership of the NFL’s media properties.