By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –@tvanswerman

Dish Network and its sister streaming service, Sling TV, this Sunday (September 24) will provide a free preview of the NFL RedZone channel. The NFL-owned channel, which is hosted by Scott Hanson, offers live look-ins at pivotal moments during NFL Sunday afternoon games, particularly when one team is inside its opponent’s 20-yard-line. If you don’t have the NFL Sunday Ticket, it’s a great and relatively inexpensive way to follow the key moments in all the games.

Sling TV, which charges $40 a month for its base package (now half off the first month), normally includes the RedZone Channel in its $11 a month add-on package called Sports Extra. Dish carries the NFL RedZone in its Multi Sports Pack which costs $13 a month and includes 15 channels.

In related news, for the first two Sundays of the regular season, numerous DIRECTV subscribers have posted complaints on social media that they could not access the NFL RedZone channel although they had paid for it through the provider’s $14.99 a month Sports Pack add-on package. The problem has not affected all DIRECTV subscribers who have the RedZone, or perhaps even a majority, but social media forums such as X were overflowing with complaints yesterday.

DIRECTV’s customer service team on X yesterday, and this morning, said it was investigating the issue. “At this moment, there is an Outage affecting RedZone on our app. Our team is working hard to restore the service, so you can enjoy your favorite programming. DIRECTV appreciates your understanding,” @DIRECTVHelp told one angry customer.

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— Phillip Swann
@tvanswerman