UK pay-television broadcaster Sky has today (Wednesday) announced that it has invested $1m (€890,000) in the US-based Drone Racing League.
As part of the deal, Sky will broadcast the competition on its newly-launched Sky Sports Mix channel. Sky will show 10 one-hour episodes over the course of the 2016 DRL season, with coverage to begin next month.
The DRL organises a first-person view competition that requires pilots to fly custom-designed, hand-built and identical drones through three-dimensional courses.
The 2016 season comprises five races and culminates in a winner-takes-all world championship to find the best drone pilot.
In order to bring the sport to new audiences, the DRL’s media team is continuing its work to expand the league’s broadcast and race infrastructure.
Sky Sports will also work with the league and the London & Partners promotional company to stage an official DRL race at a to-be-determined London venue. It will mark the first professional drone race in the UK.
“Having a distribution deal and strategic partnerships with Sky will bring DRL to tens of millions of viewers,” DRL chief executive and founder Nicholas Horbaczewski said. “With their expertise and our industry leading technology, media production and development of the best competitive racing, we believe we can truly grow a global franchise around this futuristic, high-speed racing sport.”