The National Football League was expected to kick off the promotion for
its NFL RedZone channel during an Aug. 14 doubleheader on NFL Network.
Commercials were slated to debut on NFL Network's
national coverage of the St.
Louis Rams-New York Jets game at 7 p.m. (ET) and the Denver
Broncos-San Francisco 49ers contest at 10 p.m.
The service, scheduled to be launched Sept. 13, will provide
fans with a look at the most exciting moments on Sundays, showcasing touchdowns,
highlights and live look-ins in high-definition.
The service, hosted by NFL
Network reporter Scott Hanson, will switch viewers from game to game, as teams
drive inside the 20-yard line, the so-called red zone, giving the audience a
chance to see every important play.
Hanson will host NFL RedZone, produced and
edited by NFL Network, from a newly constructed, state-of-the-art studio at its Los Angeles headquarters.
NFL RedZone is a new and different service than the Red Zone
Channel offered by DirecTV to subscribers to the Sunday Ticket out-of-market
package.
NFL RedZone
is being made available to cable, telco, satellite and other distributors that have
carriage agreements with NFL Network, according to NFL Network president and
CEO Steve Bornstein.
NFL Network secured the rights to offer the new service as
part of the league's $4 billion extension with DirecTV to continue to carry the
full Sunday Ticket package exclusively during the 2011 through 2014 seasons.
Creative will sport copy reading in part: "NFL RedZone, a
new channel of NFL Network. Every touchdown, every game, live on HD, Sunday afternoons
this fall."
Promos for the service will run on NFL Network, which is
presenting all 65 preseason games this season in HD, as well on NFL.com. Other
NFL carriers are expected to carry the messaging as well.
