Drone racing still sounds like something exclusive to science fiction as far as we’re concerned, but it’s happening all over the world, and Sky Sports have signed a huge deal to become the first major UK broadcaster to bring the futuristic sport to the mainstream.
The Drone Racing League (DRL) is seen as the leading competitive outlet for First Person View (FPV) drone racing. That entails a number of pilots whizzing quad-copter drones through 3D obstacle courses at speeds up to 120mph. They’re all wearing FPV goggles that display a real-time view of the course as it appears from their drone’s onboard camera. If you’re picturing video games in real life, you’re probably on the right track.
The official website goes into much more detail and is well worth a scan if this has piqued your interest.
Sky’s $1m (£750,000) deal with the DRL will involve them broadcasting 10 one-hour episodes to the UK and Ireland on Sky Sports Mix. The series will cover five races from the 2016 season before culminating in a winner-takes-all championship.
On top of this, Sky Sports and the DRL are bringing live drone racing events to the UK at an as yet unnamed London venue.
Sky intend to get people up to speed with with a drone racing introduction that will air at 4am on September 16, before it all kicks off proper in October.
Read more…