You may recall that exactly one week ago, your old buddy Doug got all bonered up about NFL Network and Comcast finally reaching an amicable agreement. In particular, it was starting to sound like Comcast subscribers would not only get NFL network at no extra charge, but that we’d also get the very-excellent Red Zone Channel for free as well. I mentioned that it “seems way too good to be true” and, as it turns out, it looks like it is indeed too good to be true.

Sports Illustrated’s Peter King recently said the following:

“Clarifying one thing about the Red Zone Channel on Comcast. Last week I said the league’s smart deal with the cable giant would put the Red Zone Channel (the one that jumps from game to game on Sundays, showing scoring opportunities) on Comcast’s digital tier. No so, most likely.

Other cable outfits who make deals to put NFL Network on their digital cable tiers will probably place Red Zone on a pay tier similar to the one the league argued the NFL Network shouldn’t be on. The reason is because the Red Zone Channel is added value, not something the league wanted to give Big Cable as part of the deal to make the Network more widely distributed on the regular digital tier. So if you’ve got Comcast and you want this premium channel, you’ll likely have to pay an additional $7 or so per month to get it, which, over a four-month term, is probably a reasonable cost if you’re an NFL devotee who loves immediacy and can’t wait for the halftime or post-game highlights.”

So King may have been wrong about it being free. Now hopefully he’s wrong about being wrong. In all honesty, paying $7 per month for the Red Zone Channel is still going to make it seem like a good deal to anyone who’s already excited about it. Free would make it oustanding, though — Comcastic, even.

[via Consumerist]