When discussing the deal that will, if approved, give the NFL a 10-percent stake in ESPN, Commissioner Roger Goodell [dangled a bright, shiny object](https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/roger-goodell-espn-purchased-redzone-name-may-use-it-for-other-sports) for consumers.
_Hey, you might get a college football RedZone!_
It may have the same name, but it won’t be the same. For one important reason. ESPN won’t automatically have the right to incorporate games that are the property of other networks.
Fox has a Big Ten and Big 12 package. As recently reported by FrontOfficeSports.com, [Fox is unlikely](https://frontofficesports.com/fox-espn-college-football-redzone/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Fox%20Wont%20Share%20Big%20Ten%20With%20ESPN&utm_content=Fox%20Wont%20Share%20Big%20Ten%20With%20ESPN+CID_2fa9bb7f5b4e62b33acdc9c1a0760b61&utm_source=FOS%20Daily%20Newsletter&utm_term=Fox%20Unlikely%20to%20Let%20ESPN%20Use%20Big%20Ten%20Games%20for%20College%20Football%20RedZone) to allow ESPN to add those games to a potential RedZone product.
Really, why would Fox boost an ESPN alternative to watching the games on Fox? It works in the NFL because the NFL dictates terms to CBS and Fox. College football isn’t nearly as centralized, or as powerful.
Thus, while ESPN now owns the ability to use “RedZone” for other products, there’s really no other product like the original. For that reason alone, why would the NFL or ESPN want to undermine the term by using it for something less than the product for which the phrase was coined?