You're sitting on your couch, the smell of wings is starting to waft from the kitchen, and the 1:00 PM ET kickoff is minutes away. You want to see every touchdown, every goal-line stand, and honestly, you just want Scott Hanson to guide you through seven hours of commercial-free football. But then the panic hits. You didn't subscribe to the sports pack this year. You haven't touched your cable settings since February. You start wondering—is RedZone free Week 1?
It's the question that trends every single September.
Historically, the answer has been a resounding "yes," but things are getting weird in the streaming era. The NFL used to treat the first Sunday like a drug dealer giving out a free sample. They wanted you hooked on the "Witching Hour" so you'd cough up the cash for the rest of the season. Lately, however, the "free preview" isn't as universal as it used to be. Whether you get it for $0 depends entirely on who sends you your monthly bill and which streaming app you’ve got downloaded on your Roku.
The Reality of the Week 1 Free Preview
Let’s get the facts straight. For years, major providers like Xfinity (Comcast), Cox, Dish, and Verizon Fios automatically unlocked the NFL RedZone channel for the opening Sunday of the regular season. You didn't have to click anything. You just navigated to the channel—usually somewhere in the high hundreds—and there it was.
But the landscape shifted.
Now that the NFL has moved its primary distribution toward YouTube TV and its own standalone NFL+ service, the "free" aspect has become fragmented. Some years, YouTube TV offers a free trial of the Sports Plus add-on specifically for the opening weekend. Other years, they stick strictly to their 7-day or 14-day new subscriber trials. If you are an existing customer, you might find that the "free" window isn't an automatic unlock anymore. You might actually have to go into your account settings and manually toggle a trial. It's annoying.
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Why the NFL Loves (and Hates) the Freebie
The league knows RedZone is their best product. It’s crack for fantasy football players. By letting people watch is RedZone free Week 1, they ensure that social media is flooded with clips of Scott Hanson losing his mind over a quadruple-box. This creates FOMO. If you spend Sunday watching your local team lose a boring 13-10 slog while everyone else is watching a 45-42 shootout in the desert, you're going to buy RedZone by Week 2.
But there is a catch. The NFL is also trying to drive users to NFL+ Premium. This is their own in-house streaming service. If they give away the channel for free on every cable platform, they might lose out on those $14.99 monthly subscriptions from the "cord-cutters."
How to Check if You Have Access
Don't wait until 12:59 PM to figure this out. You’ll be stressed.
- Check your local listings early. If you have traditional cable, tune to the RedZone channel on Thursday or Friday. Usually, there’s a graphic playing on a loop. If it says "Call to Subscribe," you might be out of luck. If it shows highlights from last year or a countdown clock, you’re likely in the clear for the preview.
- The "Special Offers" Tab. If you use YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, or Fubo, check the "Add-ons" or "Specials" section in your account. Sometimes the free Week 1 isn't "automatic"—you have to "claim" the free trial.
- Download the NFL App. Even if your TV provider isn't playing ball, the NFL app sometimes hosts the free preview stream if you log in with a basic (even non-paying) account during the specific broadcast window.
It’s worth noting that the "Free Preview" typically only applies to the Sunday afternoon window. It starts at 1:00 PM ET and ends when the late afternoon games wrap up, usually around 8:00 PM ET. It does not cover Sunday Night Football, nor does it include the Thursday or Monday night games. Those are entirely different beasts owned by NBC, Amazon, and ESPN.
The Fine Print Nobody Reads
Sometimes "free" comes with a tether. If you sign up for a "Free Week 1" trial through a service like Fubo or Sling TV, they will almost certainly require a credit card on file. This is the oldest trick in the book. They are betting on the fact that you’ll be so exhausted by the time the Sunday night game ends that you’ll forget to cancel. Then, Monday morning, you're hit with a $15 or $80 charge depending on the package.
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Also, geographical blackouts still exist for your local games. RedZone shows you the "look-ins" and the scores, but if your local team is playing on your local CBS or FOX affiliate, RedZone will often show a "double box" or cut away faster because they want you watching the main broadcast for local ad revenue.
Direct TV vs. The World
Since Sunday Ticket moved to YouTube, many former DirecTV loyalists are lost. DirecTV used to be the king of the free preview. Now, if you’re still a DirecTV satellite subscriber, you have to buy the "Sports Pack" to get RedZone. They are less likely to offer the free Week 1 than they were five years ago because they are fighting to keep every cent of margin.
Is NFL+ the Better Option?
If you find out that is RedZone free Week 1 is a "no" for your specific provider, you have to look at NFL+ Premium. It’s the most direct way to get RedZone without a massive cable bill.
- Pros: It’s cheaper than a full cable substitute. You get the "All-22" coaches film. You get full game replays.
- Cons: You can only stream RedZone on phones and tablets unless you have the Premium tier.
Honestly, watching RedZone on a phone feels like looking at a postage stamp while a riot is happening. It's not the best experience. If you want it on the big screen, make sure you're looking at the Premium subscription which allows for "connected TV" devices like Apple TV or Amazon Fire Stick.
What to Do if It’s Not Free
So, you’ve checked the channel and it’s locked. Your provider is being stingy. You have three real moves:
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The Trial Shuffle
Sign up for a 7-day free trial of a streaming service you don't currently have. If you have YouTube TV, try Fubo. If you have Fubo, try Hulu. Just make sure the "Sports Add-on" is included in the trial. Some trials only give you the base channels, and RedZone is almost always an extra $10-$15.
The "New Customer" Gambit
Call your cable company. Tell them you're thinking about switching to a competitor. Ask if they can throw in the Sports Pack for a month for free. It works more often than you’d think, especially in early September when their churn rates are high.
The Social Media Route
If you literally just want to see the scores and the vibe, the NFL's official social media accounts and the "RedZone" Twitter (X) account post the touchdowns almost in real-time. It’s not the same as Scott Hanson’s voice, but it’s free and it’s legal.
Actionable Steps for NFL Sunday
To ensure you aren't staring at a "Log-in to View" screen when the first ball is kicked, follow this checklist:
- Verify by Saturday Night: Open your service of choice and search for "NFL RedZone." If the channel exists but is greyed out, search for "Free Preview" in the search bar of your cable box or streaming app.
- Set a "Cancel" Alarm: If you have to sign up for a trial to get the Week 1 access, set an alarm on your phone for Monday at 10:00 AM. Do not trust your memory.
- Check Your Internet Bandwidth: RedZone is a data hog because the screen is constantly changing and refreshing. If you're streaming the "free" version on a laptop, plug in an Ethernet cable. Nothing ruins a free preview like the "buffering" circle when a team is on the 1-yard line.
- Confirm the Time: Remember, RedZone doesn't start until 1:00 PM ET. If you tune in at 11:00 AM and see a "Not Authorized" message, don't panic. The "unlock" often doesn't trigger until exactly 60 minutes before kickoff.
The "Free Week 1" is a tradition that is slowly dying as the NFL moves toward a more aggressive "pay-to-play" model. However, for 2024 and 2025, enough providers still offer it that you can usually find a workaround. Just be prepared to do a little bit of digital legwork before the national anthem starts.
Once you have access, just sit back and wait for those magic words: "Seven hours of commercial-free football... starts now." It’s the best day of the year. Don't let a "subscription required" pop-up ruin it.