NFL RedZone offices had to be evacuated Sunday due to a false alarm, according to an NFL spokesperson. The show was live on air when the alarm went off around 7:16 p.m. ET.
“Fortunately there was no fire,” the NFL spokesman said. “No business functions, including NFL RedZone, were disrupted.”
Host Scott Hanson said he was “in the middle of an update” when he heard the alarm go off.
“I tried to move on without drawing attention to it, hoping it was a false alarm that would be dealt with quickly,” Hanson told The Athletic. “As it continued, I assumed the audience heard it, so I pointed out that it was starting and apologized if it was a distraction. My producer got the first word that it might be real. So I told the audience that we should evacuate.”
Hanson said the RedZone feed was “parked” at the Bills-Eagles game and just as he was about to take off his microphone, he was told not to “leave yet.”
“We were given permission to stay in the studio,” Hanson said. “But the scenario was that they wanted us to cancel the show. As amused as I was at the situation, I stepped in front of the camera and said goodbye. Over 250 episodes of NFL RedZone – that was a first. I am very grateful for the concern shown by so many of our viewers. Next Sunday we’ll be back and ready to answer the bell, whatever bell that may be!”
During the broadcast, viewers could hear the bell as background noise. And as Hanson stood in front of the camera, you could see the blinking flash reflecting off his jacket.
On NFL Sundays, about 300 people worked at the NFL Network studios in Inglewood, next to SoFi Stadium. There is also a backup studio at NFL Films in Mount Laurel, New Jersey for exactly such incidents.
RedZone has been owned and operated by NFL Network since 2009. It broadcasts during the NFL regular season starting at 1:00 p.m. ET and provides simultaneous, rotating coverage of all Sunday afternoon games. As Hanson says at the start of each show, RedZone shows “seven hours of commercial-free football.”
Hanson has hosted RedZone since the program’s inception in 2009.
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