Changes have hit two popular platforms used for streaming NFL games hours before the start of the season, and fans are already mourning their losses.
NFL RedZone, a live channel known for its ‘seven hours of commercial-free football,’ is changing its format and will now include ads. Anchor Scott Hanson confirmed the news on ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ Sept. 3.
‘The business folks handle the business, and I have no say over elements that could or could not be in the show,’ Hanson said.
Later the same day, Streameast, a sports piracy network that offered live streams to sports fans looking to evade subscriptions, was shut down by authorities.
In collaboration with Egyptian officials, the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment, a coalition of more than 50 global entertainment companies and film studies, announced on Sept. 3 it had shut down Streameast. The illegal platform logged more than 1.6 billion visits across more than 80 domains in the past year, according to a news release.
The news about both RedZone and Streameast came just before the 2025-26 NFL season kicks off on Thursday, Sept. 4, sparking outrage from some fans on social media.
NFL RedZone commercials, Streameast shutdown is ‘absolute sacrilege,’ fans say
Many sports fans commiserated over the loss of commercial-free RedZone and Streameast on the same day.
Some RedZone viewers said they were planning to boycott the channel, which can be accessed through platforms like Disney+ and NFL+ Premium.
Others questioned how RedZone’s new format could be successful, given the show markets itself as the best way to see live action around the league.
‘How will Redzone channel even work with commercials? The whole point of it is live action updates,’ one fan posted on X. ‘If multiple big plays or touchdowns happen during commercials but there is good live action going on, how will they manage that? This literally ruins the channel.’
Fans questioned the timing of both announcements, which came just before the new season kicks off.
Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at melina.khan@usatoday.com.