The deal had been rumored and reported for weeks, and on Tuesday, it became official. ESPN is acquiring the rights to distribute NFL Network and NFL RedZone in exchange for a 10 percent stake in the network.<\/p>\n
And while the deal obviously ruins any facade of objectivity ESPN<\/a> has with respect to covering the NFL, fans are also concerned about what it will mean for the wildly popular NFL RedZone.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n RedZone \u2014 and its seven hours of commercial-free football \u2014 has been a staple of the NFL fan experience for 16 years now. And the last thing fans want is for ESPN to come in, replace Scott Hanson<\/a> with Stephen A. Smith and load RedZone with ads.<\/p>\n In an interview on SportsCenter Wednesday, Roger Goodell assured fans that nothing about RedZone would change.<\/p>\n According to Goodell, RedZone would remain an in-house production for the NFL. Just instead, it will air on ESPN-owned platforms. Under that arrangement, ESPN wouldn’t actually be able to change the content we see on RedZone. It would almost seem like ESPN is just simulcasting the typical version of RedZone.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n At least that’s how Goodell described the beginning of this arrangement. Could ESPN slowly make changes to the product down the road? It wouldn’t be surprising.<\/p>\n But for now, it does sound like RedZone will remain the same viewing experience. That’s good to hear.<\/p>\n