Is NFL RedZone down right now?

NFL+ said at shortly after 2 p.m. ET on 13 September that the issues affecting its service had been resolved. The outage started around the 1 p.m. ET Week 1 kickoff. If RedZone still won't load for you, sign out of the NFL app and back in, update the app, and file a ticket with NFL support if your subscription still shows as inactive.

Why wasn't the NFL app working on Sunday?

The NFL has not given a cause. It confirmed only that there were issues affecting the NFL+ experience, apologised, and later said they were resolved. Users reported the app failing to load, errors when starting streams, and paid subscriptions not being recognised.

Will NFL+ give a refund for the Week 1 outage?

No refund or credit has been announced. Many subscribers have asked for one on social media. The league directed affected users to its customer support team, so filing a ticket is the most direct way to ask and leaves a record if a credit policy is announced later.

Did the outage affect RedZone on cable or YouTube TV?

The confirmed failure was on the NFL's own app and the NFL+ service. RedZone carried by some traditional TV and streaming providers kept working. Some users also reported NFL Sunday Ticket problems, but the NFL has not confirmed an issue there.

How long did the NFL+ outage last?

About an hour for most users. Reports spiked just before 1 p.m. ET, NFL+ acknowledged the issue at 1:19 p.m. ET and said it was resolved shortly after 2 p.m. ET. Some viewers kept seeing problems for a while after that as the service came back.

NFL+ Outage Hit Week 1 RedZone: Fixed, No Refund Yet

What broke during the NFL+ outage?

Subscribers reported three kinds of failure, according to published reports:

The NFL app would not load, or loaded but showed errors saying it was unable to process the request.
Paid accounts were not recognised. Some NFL+ Premium subscribers were treated as if they had no subscription at all, which locked them out of RedZone.
Streams failed on phones and TV apps, not just one platform.

The timing made it worse. Eight games started in the 1 p.m. window, which is exactly when RedZone, the whip-around channel that jumps between live scoring chances, gets its heaviest use. Outage reports on Downdetector climbed to roughly 6,200 just before 1 p.m. and passed 16,500 by about 1:10 p.m.

What did the NFL say?

The NFL+ account acknowledged the problem at 1:19 p.m. ET: "We are aware of the issues affecting the NFL+ experience and are working to fix them. We apologize for the inconvenience." It asked anyone still having trouble to file a ticket with NFL customer support.

Shortly after 2 p.m. ET, the same account posted: "The issues affecting the NFL+ experience have been resolved." That puts the disruption at somewhere between one hour and 75 minutes, depending on when a given user first lost access. Some people kept reporting problems after the fix was announced, which is typical as apps reconnect in waves.

The league has not said what caused the failure.

Were RedZone on cable and Sunday Ticket affected?

The confirmed failure was on the NFL's own app and NFL+ service. RedZone carried by some traditional TV and streaming providers kept working for viewers who had it that way. A number of users also complained about NFL Sunday Ticket, which runs on a separate service, but the NFL has not confirmed any problem there, so treat those reports as unverified.

If you watch through a live TV service rather than the NFL app, today's problem most likely did not reach you. Our breakdown of ESPN Unlimited on YouTube TV covers how the league's partner channels are packaged there.

Will NFL+ subscribers get a refund?

Not so far. Plenty of subscribers asked for money back or a prorated credit on social media, and some said they had cancelled, but the NFL has made no compensation announcement. If you lost most of the early window, file a support ticket and ask directly. The league told affected users to use that route, and it creates a record if a credit policy is announced later.

What to do if the NFL app still is not working

Force-close and reopen the app, then sign out and back in so your subscription status reloads.
Update the app from the Play Store, App Store or your TV's store.
Try a second device, such as a phone if the TV app fails, to tell whether the fault is with your account or one app.
File a ticket with NFL support if your paid plan still shows as inactive.

Streaming has had a rough opening to the season. Netflix's Melbourne broadcast drew complaints about its audio and ads earlier this week, and tonight's Cowboys vs Giants game streams on Peacock, so that is the next big test of a streaming service under game-day load. For a non-sports example of the same kind of failure, see how YouTube handled its blank home feed outage last week.