NFL RedZone will have just four 15-second ads in Week 1

Rumors of NFL RedZone‘s demise have been greatly exaggerated.

Yesterday, RedZone host Scott Hanson sent the internet into a fury when he revealed that the beloved Sunday afternoon whip-around show would include advertisements. Of course, RedZone experimented with ad placements last year, which similarly had the show’s loyalists riled up.

Perhaps it’s Hanson’s famous tagline, “Seven hours of commercial-free football starts now!” that has struck such a nerve. The longtime host will have to omit the “commercial-free” portion of that catchphrase now.

But according to new details reported by Front Office Sports, Hanson could still accurately say “Six hours and fifty-nine minutes of commercial-free football starts now!” On Thursday, FOS reported that RedZone will have just four ads throughout its entire seven-hour telecast in Week 1, with each ad lasting a mere 15 seconds. Additionally, as multiple outlets have reported, the ads will utilize a split-screen, with game action still occurring on half of the screen.

The ad load “could change later in the season,” but for now, the NFL is starting small.

And unlike what the social media outrage about the new ads may suggest, it is not a byproduct of ESPN’s recent deal with the NFL. “This move has been contemplated and tested for over a year now, and is completely unrelated to the recent news regarding ESPN and the NFL,” a league spokesperson told FOS.

Listen, nobody wants more ads, especially on a product you already have to pay a premium price for. But one minute of commercials throughout a 420-minute broadcast shouldn’t warrant the amount of outrage seen on social media this week. Considering the amount of commercials shown during a normal NFL broadcast, the RedZone ad load should be the least of our worries.