How to Use NFL RedZone to Watch the Best Parts of NFL Out-of-Market Games

If you’re a fan of a team that’s based far from where you live, you know how frustrating it can be to simply watch your team play live. But if your out-of-market NFL game problem is more that you don’t want to be limited to the same teams playing all the time, you may have more options than you think.

The NFL provides two live “cable” channels for football fans. First is NFL Network, which airs preseason games, a handful of regular season games, and general coverage of NFL news. Second is NFL RedZone, which is often regarded as a fantasy football resource (and it certainly can be that) but it’s much more.

In a hurry? If you already know all about NFL RedZone, but just aren’t sure how to get it, check out these streaming services. Any of them offer overall NFL coverage beyond RedZone that should satisfy all your pigskin cravings:

FuboTV: The best streaming service for international sports also provides 130+ well-selected channels. FuboTV allows you to try out its service free for 7 days.
Sling TV: This low-cost service allows you to select just the channel lineup you want. Save with Sling TV.
Hulu + Live TV: A great overall streaming service offering 85+ live channels along with ESPN+ and Disney+. Try one month for $69.99.

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Unfortunately, we don’t know a streaming service in that covers this sport. But if you’ve already paid for the right service, and just can’t watch because of your location, there is an easy way to get the content you deserve. You need a VPN, like one of the following.

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If you’re not super hung-up on watching an entire game from start to finish, as long as you don’t miss a single touchdown, then read on to find out how RedZone could be the answer you’ve been looking for.

Table Of Contents

1 NFL Out-of-Market Problem
2 The Potential Solutions
3 NFL RedZone Solution
4 Streaming Services for NFL RedZone
5 Streaming Devices for NFL RedZone
6 Wrapping Up
- 6.1 More Info on NFL Without Cable

NFL Out-of-Market Problem

Frankly, it’s crazy that in 2022, we still even have to talk about this. Sure, it makes sense to show local games to mostly local NFL fans. But with all of today’s broadcast and streaming technology, the NFL still hasn’t figured out how to deliver all the live games on a decent size screen to any fan who wants them for a reasonable price?

Regardless, that’s where we are. If you’re a fan of the New York Jets who happens to live in Arizona, you are out of luck when it comes to the majority of Jets games. There are three ways for you to see a live-televised Jets game:

If the Jets are playing in one of the three nationally-televised games each normal week of the NFL season
If they are playing the Cardinals on a Sunday afternoon
If you luck out and they just happen to be playing in one of the regionally broadcast games.

The same goes for all fans who want to see games outside their local area. Unless the team is really popular nationwide (the Cowboys, say, or the Packers), you just won’t see their games on your local network.

The Potential Solutions

Your options, as mentioned, are few:

NFL+ Premium: Only provides replays of out-of-market games. It does allow you to watch NFL games live that are on primetime and in-market but only on mobile devices through the NFL app. (NFL+ review)
NFL Sunday Ticket: Provides access to all out-of-market games. Only available with DIRECTV — the satellite service, not the streaming version. (NFL Sunday Ticket review)
NFL Game Pass: Provides access to every game. But it is only offered outside the US, Canada, and China. (NFL Game Pass review)

And then there’s NFL RedZone.

NFL RedZone Solution

Let’s be up-front: NFL RedZone isn’t a perfect solution either. If you’re the kind of fan that likes to plunk down in front of a game and watch it from kickoff to final play, then RedZone isn’t for you.

But if you’re in the majority of fans who don’t mind skipping the endless time-outs, clock-stoppages, penalty checks, and commercial breaks of regular network broadcast games, then you should definitely keep reading.

What is NFL RedZone?

NFL RedZone is a channel owned and run by the NFL. It airs for seven hours on Sunday afternoons (Eastern Time), hosted by Scott Hanson. Instead of showing a single game, RedZone features “whip-around” coverage of all the games going on at any given time on a regular season Sunday.

How RedZone Solves the Out-of-Market Problem

Its slogan is, “every touchdown of every game,” and it lives up to it. Hanson guides you through all of it, jumping from one game to another, reassuring you you’re not missing anything from other games that are in a commercial break, halftime, or a timeout.

If there’s action in multiple games, the screen is simply split, up to the signature Octobox showing eight games at once. And the rare times all the games are in a commercial break or halftime, the channel cuts back to the studio for analysis and discussion.

Your biggest issue may well be finding a bit of downtime for a bathroom break or to refill your chip bowl.

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Streaming Services for NFL RedZone

NFL RedZone is offered by most of the major live TV streaming services. DIRECTV STREAM is the major exception. Here are the top streaming services that give you access to NFL RedZone:

FuboTV: One of the best streaming services when it comes to football. On top of the 120+ channels in the Pro plan ($74.99/mo), it gives you access to all the channels you need to watch the games live and much more with CBS, NBC, Fox, ESPN, and NFL Network. With the Sports Plus add-on package ($10.99), you get NFL RedZone and 28 other sports channels, including NBA TV, MLB Network, MLB Strike Zone, and NHL Network. You also get 1,000 hours of cloud DVR storage and streaming on up to 10 devices at the same time. (FuboTV review)
Sling TV: Sling TV is the most affordable way to catch up with football games. Sling Blue (slingtv-price:) offers you three of the channels you need to watch the NFL games: Fox, NBC, and NFL Network. (You will need to combine it with the Orange plan for $15/mo more to get the ESPN channels. And CBS is not included but with the money you save, you could get Paramount+.) To watch NFL RedZone, you will need the Sports Extra add-on ($11.00/mo), which provides 10 other channels. (Sling TV review)
Hulu + Live TV: The next best thing after FuboTV for football is definitely Hulu+ Live TV. Its $69.99/mo plan has 85+ live channels including ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, ESPN, and NFL Network. It also includes ESPN+ and Disney+ with the base plan. The Sports add-on is $9.99 and includes NFL RedZone and 5 others. You get all this, unlimited cloud DVR (9-month storage) and streaming on two devices concurrently. (Hulu + Live TV review)
Vidgo: Vidgo’s Premium plan ($84.99/mo) has 150+ channels with an impressive selection of sports. It gives you access to ABC, Fox, NFL Network, and NFL RedZone. It also provides a great selection of the ESPN channels including the base channel, ESPN2, ESPNews, ESPNU, ESPN Deportes, and the NCAA channels ACC Network, Longhorn Network, and SEC Network. The main limitation of Vidgo is that it does not offer CBS — a major problem for AFC fans. (Vidgo review)
YouTube TV: Offers a channel lineup similar to Hulu + Live TV for $72.99/mo and includes ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, ESPN, and NFL Network. NFL RedZone is in its Sports plus package.

Streaming Devices for NFL RedZone

To watch NFL RedZone, you’ll need a compatible streaming device. All the streaming services support the following devices:

Amazon Fire TV
Android mobile
Android TV
Apple TV

Chromecast
iOS (iPhone)
Roku

The streaming services besides Vidgo provide support for many others including Samsung smart TVs and Xbox gaming systems. Hulu and YouTube support PlayStation units.

Wrapping Up

So if you’re an Eastern Pennsylvanian who longs to break out of the tyranny of Eagles Country, be sure to give NFL RedZone a try. It’s like a live stream of the “good parts” version of Sunday afternoon football. No blackouts. No exclusions. Just exciting play after turnover after long drive after touchdown.

More Info on NFL Without Cable

If you still have questions, these resources should help:

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Frank Moraes

Frank Moraes is Content Editor at HotDog.com. He specializes in technology, business, and film/television. You can see his writing on low-budget and weird film at Psychotronic Review — and many other places.

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