OT: Xfinity has dropped NFL Network and RedZone channels

Tunescribe · 2026-05-04T10:29:57-0400

Speaking as a regular viewer paying through the nose for cable, this sucks. If it isn't renewed before the season begins I might go the dish route.

Info: As of May 1, 2026, Xfinity has dropped the NFL Network and RedZone due to a carriage dispute with the new owner, ESPN/Disney. While both sides indicate a willingness to negotiate, a renewal is not guaranteed. Comcast is protesting new, higher fee demands, meaning the network could remain dark for several months until closer to the NFL regular season.

Key Details on the Dispute:

Cause: The previous carriage agreement expired, and ESPN (which recently acquired NFL Media) is demanding roughly double the fees for continued coverage, according to Comcast statements.
Channel Status: NFL Network and NFL RedZone were removed on April 30, 2026, from all Xfinity TV and Xfinity Stream platforms.
Outlook: While these disputes often resolve before the high-demand football season starts in September, it is not certain if or when a renewal will occur.

Ian · 2026-05-04T11:03:10-0400

Tunescribe said:
Speaking as a regular viewer paying through the nose for cable, this sucks. If it isn't renewed before the season begins I might go the dish route.

Info: As of May 1, 2026, Xfinity has dropped the NFL Network and RedZone due to a carriage dispute with the new owner, ESPN/Disney. While both sides indicate a willingness to negotiate, a renewal is not guaranteed. Comcast is protesting new, higher fee demands, meaning the network could remain dark for several months until closer to the NFL regular season.

Key Details on the Dispute:

Cause: The previous carriage agreement expired, and ESPN (which recently acquired NFL Media) is demanding roughly double the fees for continued coverage, according to Comcast statements.

Channel Status: NFL Network and NFL RedZone were removed on April 30, 2026, from all Xfinity TV and Xfinity Stream platforms.

Outlook: While these disputes often resolve before the high-demand football season starts in September, it is not certain if or when a renewal will occur.

Don't go the dish route. If you have decent internet, do YouTube TV. You can pause the service whenever you want (I turn it off from mid-Feb through August), and it's less invasive.

Prior to that, I had DirectTV. When they came and installed it, they said if I ever moved or canceled, they'd come back and take the dish down and make the roof "like it never happened." They refused to come back when I did cancel, and I had to go up there and deal with it. At least with that, you have control, and you can buy a Roku for each TV for like $60, and it works great, better than the smart TV app. Super easy. And if you want, you can cancel/pause without having to call anyone.

Raccoonsuit · 2026-05-04T11:41:37-0400

Ian said:
Don't go the dish route. If you have decent internet, do YouTube TV. You can pause the service whenever you want (I turn it off from mid-Feb through August), and it's less invasive.

Prior to that, I had DirectTV. When they came and installed it, they said if I ever moved or canceled, they'd come back and take the dish down and make the roof "like it never happened." They refused to come back when I did cancel, and I had to go up there and deal with it. At least with that, you have control, and you can buy a Roku for each TV for like $60, and it works great, better than the smart TV app. Super easy. And if you want, you can cancel/pause without having to call anyone.

If you're a student you get a big discount on YouTube TV too. I took a community college course last year and I think the nfl package was around $200 for the season.

Worth it for me being out of market and all the changes they made to Redzone like ads. Like Ian said id much rather do youtube than sail the seas or get dish. Finding pirated sites is always such a pain and the quality is generally horrible

Steve102 · 2026-05-04T11:50:34-0400

Ian said:
Don't go the dish route. If you have decent internet, do YouTube TV. You can pause the service whenever you want (I turn it off from mid-Feb through August), and it's less invasive.

Prior to that, I had DirectTV. When they came and installed it, they said if I ever moved or canceled, they'd come back and take the dish down and make the roof "like it never happened." They refused to come back when I did cancel, and I had to go up there and deal with it. At least with that, you have control, and you can buy a Roku for each TV for like $60, and it works great, better than the smart TV app. Super easy. And if you want, you can cancel/pause without having to call anyone.

I do the same thing with Fubo TV. Family plan allows me to share with son and son-in-law throughout football season, which lessons the bill.

Ian · 2026-05-04T11:53:52-0400

Tunescribe said:
Speaking as a regular viewer paying through the nose for cable, this sucks. If it isn't renewed before the season begins I might go the dish route.

Info: As of May 1, 2026, Xfinity has dropped the NFL Network and RedZone due to a carriage dispute with the new owner, ESPN/Disney. While both sides indicate a willingness to negotiate, a renewal is not guaranteed. Comcast is protesting new, higher fee demands, meaning the network could remain dark for several months until closer to the NFL regular season.

Key Details on the Dispute:

Cause: The previous carriage agreement expired, and ESPN (which recently acquired NFL Media) is demanding roughly double the fees for continued coverage, according to Comcast statements.

Channel Status: NFL Network and NFL RedZone were removed on April 30, 2026, from all Xfinity TV and Xfinity Stream platforms.

Outlook: While these disputes often resolve before the high-demand football season starts in September, it is not certain if or when a renewal will occur.

The other thing, too, is the fact that DirecTV also hits you with all the equipment fees - it's annoying. My base bill (with nothing) was like $168 or something like that, with the two boxes we had, etc. It was crazy. That jumped to almost $300 when the NFL Sunday Ticket kicked in.

When we switched to YouTube TV, it was $59 for a while before it went to $85 or whatever it is now, which is still less. And the fact that I can turn it off/on whenever I want is great.

Rob0729 · 2026-05-04T12:13:38-0400

Ian said:
Don't go the dish route. If you have decent internet, do YouTube TV. You can pause the service whenever you want (I turn it off from mid-Feb through August), and it's less invasive.

Prior to that, I had DirectTV. When they came and installed it, they said if I ever moved or canceled, they'd come back and take the dish down and make the roof "like it never happened." They refused to come back when I did cancel, and I had to go up there and deal with it. At least with that, you have control, and you can buy a Roku for each TV for like $60, and it works great, better than the smart TV app. Super easy. And if you want, you can cancel/pause without having to call anyone.

Both Dish and DirecTV are pretty much abandoning their traditional satellite model.

Dish Network has now partnered with Starlink to provide their service via the internet. I don't know Starlink's policies on cancellation are. Dish offers an app based product as well.

DirecTV is pushing their streaming based service which is sorta like a combo of ROKU and YouTube TV since they provide the streaming device and offer programming like they always did. You can still get their satellite service, but they don't really push it anymore.

Not sure if any of the issues you had with either company in the past are issues now.

Ian · 2026-05-04T13:19:05-0400

Rob0729 said:
Both Dish and DirecTV are pretty much abandoning their traditional satellite model.

Dish Network has now partnered with Starlink to provide their service via the internet. I don't know Starlink's policies on cancellation are. Dish offers an app based product as well.

DirecTV is pushing their streaming based service which is sorta like a combo of ROKU and YouTube TV since they provide the streaming device and offer programming like they always did. You can still get their satellite service, but they don't really push it anymore.

Not sure if any of the issues you had with either company in the past are issues now.

The equipment thing was annoying, especially being charged for it. The Roku device itself is free - it just runs YouTube or any of the other apps. They do have their own thing they offer, but we don't use it. And we have one in the living room and our bedroom and the remote is super simple.

raduray · 2026-05-04T14:00:37-0400

Ian said:
Don't go the dish route. If you have decent internet, do YouTube TV. You can pause the service whenever you want (I turn it off from mid-Feb through August), and it's less invasive.

Prior to that, I had DirectTV. When they came and installed it, they said if I ever moved or canceled, they'd come back and take the dish down and make the roof "like it never happened." They refused to come back when I did cancel, and I had to go up there and deal with it. At least with that, you have control, and you can buy a Roku for each TV for like $60, and it works great, better than the smart TV app. Super easy. And if you want, you can cancel/pause without having to call anyone.

Can you record/pause? Did you consider Fubo and cut cable altogether?

Ian · 2026-05-04T14:02:51-0400

raduray said:
Can you record/pause? Did you consider Fubo and cut cable altogether?

You can add DVR for like $5 a month, I think? And I didn't consider Fubo because I needed the Sunday Ticket, which is exclusive to YouTube. Although I've used both and the interfaces on them are each really user friendly. But the Roku is 100% worth it. Best little thing I've ever bought. Love that thing and it works with all of them.

Ian · 2026-05-04T14:06:15-0400

raduray said:
Can you record/pause? Did you consider Fubo and cut cable altogether?

And yes - I cut cable altogether. Either one of these more or less covers you. YouTube TV has local CBS/NBC/ABC station affiliates for news, although I don't know about Fubo. But @Steve102 can probably answer that.

Vindicate · 2026-05-04T14:37:06-0400

Edit: Nevermind I'm dumb.

Rob0729 · 2026-05-04T14:53:08-0400

Ian said:
The equipment thing was annoying, especially being charged for it. The Roku device itself is free - it just runs YouTube or any of the other apps. They do have their own thing they offer, but we don't use it. And we have one in the living room and our bedroom and the remote is super simple.

DirecTV's is basically a USB stick to go into the TV and a remote. It isn't as bad as it used to be. But I think you can use their streaming service without any additional hardware. The hardware might be for people without smart TVs.

Steve102 · 2026-05-04T15:09:55-0400

Ian said:
And yes - I cut cable altogether. Either one of these more or less covers you. YouTube TV has local CBS/NBC/ABC station affiliates for news, although I don't know about Fubo. But @Steve102 can probably answer that.

Fubo offers (or did offer in the fall) the ability to record. I seem to recall that there was a cheaper version that didn't, but where we had the family plan, I believe it was included. I don't think they offered NBC or any of their affiliated offerings, IIRC anyway.

WhatJustHappened · 2026-05-04T15:31:45-0400

I'm guessing Fios won't be too far behind.
They chop **** whenever there's a tough negotiation.
Guess I'll see soon.

Guts · 2026-05-05T09:06:21-0400

Youtube TV is your best friend and it is GOATed.
Get NFL package
if cant afford they offer payment plans as well for it

Bill Lee · 2026-05-05T10:00:26-0400

My best friend is the HDTV antenna on my roof that picks up every Patriots game for free.

My second best friend is the TiVo with four tuners that records all the OTA games and lets me keep them as long as I want, and skip past the commercials.

jmt57 · 2026-05-05T11:06:39-0400

Tunescribe said:
Outlook: While these disputes often resolve before the high-demand football season starts in September, it is not certain if or when a renewal will occur.

This is a standard negotiating tactic between carriers and broadcast networks, especially in regards to ESPN. Doesn't matter if it Xfinity, Comcast, Charter/Spectrum, Verizon, whoever. I think the worst I ever saw with one of these disputes/blackouts was ESPN missing the first weekend of college football with Spectrum. It will inevitably be resolved, because both sides are making money off of us, their consumers.

upstater1 · 2026-05-05T13:03:18-0400

I bet all the cable companies are going to dump NFL Network this year, though they might keep the channel that shows red zone.

Games are moving to ESPN. Now ESPN has a huge incentive to charge more for ESPN for cable companies and even streaming services because ESPN itself is planning on becoming a major streaming service.

We'll charge you more to drive customers away from Xfinity and YoutubeTv in the expectation you will select ESPN standalone w/ Hulu and Disney. I bet a HuluTV (not basic Hulu) package is part of the plan.

BennyBledsoe · 2026-05-05T13:29:56-0400

With how good digital antennas are these days, there is no reason not to at least try to get usable signal with one.

Under the old analog system, we never got a good signal out here in the hinterlands of North Central CT. Now with digital, I can get the major networks and PBS. Plus, there's all the subchannels each station has. Here's one of the fun things... there's 40.1 in Springfield which is ABC, and 40.2 which is a Fox affiliate. And 40.2 comes in way better than Fox 61 Hartford. So, on Fox gamedays, I'm watching Channel 40 (technically), which for most of my life has just been ABC.

mgteich · 2026-05-05T13:32:10-0400

upstater1 said:
I bet everyone is going to dump NFL Network this year, though they might keep the channel that shows red zone.

Games are moving to ESPN. Now ESPN has a huge incentive to charge more for ESPN for cable companies and even streaming services because ESPN itself is planning on becoming a major streaming service.

We'll charge you more to drive customers away from Xfinity and YoutubeTv in the expectation you will select ESPN standalone w/ Hulu and Disney. I bet a HuluTV (not basic Hulu) package is part of the plan.

Yes, Disney will continue to have plans with and without HuluTV, and which include ESPN and ESPN+.

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