By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –@tvanswerman

TV Answer Man, I read something about a free RedZone preview today (September 24). Do you know who has it? It is everybody? Will YouTube TV? — Tony, Las Vegas. 
Tony, the NFL RedZone channel, hosted by Scott Hanson, provides live look-ins at pivotal moments during NFL Sunday afternoon games. The channel has become must-viewing for both casual and rabid fans with many saying it’s even better than the NFL Sunday Ticket. It’s certainly cheaper — the RedZone channel usually is included in sports add-on plans on TV providers for less than $15 a month while the Sunday Ticket’s minimum price now is $349. But what if you could watch the RedZone for free? Well, today on many TV services, you can!

DIRECTV, DIRECTV Stream, Dish, Sling TV, Hulu Live, Verizon and Cox this Sunday (September 24) will provide a free preview of the NFL RedZone channel. (Several smaller TV providers will as well so check your on-screen guides to see if your provider will.) We don’t know if YouTube TV will do the free preview, but the streamer includes the RedZone in its Sunday Ticket bundle so it might not be motivated now to offer it for free, even for just one week.

I reported on the free preview earlier this week, but I am doing it again today because, for some reason, the TV providers have been relatively quiet about it. I don’t know why but you don’t see it mentioned on provider home pages. Seems like someone is dropping the ball here. The NFL’s RedZone page, however, features the free preview at the top.)

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 last Sunday. Let’s hope the satellite TV service has fixed this issue prior to today’s free preview.

Happy viewing and stay safe!

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— Phillip Swann
@tvanswerman