DRL races feature six pilots each flying a custom designed, hand built and identical DRL drone through complex racecourses.
The Drone Racing League has secured a raft of multi-year, international event and media distribution agreements with ESPN (for North, South and Central America and the Caribbean), Sky (for UK and Ireland) and 7Sports (for Germany, Austria and Switzerland).
Airing as 10, one-hour episodes, the 2016 DRL season covers five races, including a winner-take-all world championship to crown the best drone pilot.
The broadcasts will air starting this October on ESPN/ESPN 2, Sky Sports Mix and ProSiebenSat.1.
“This is an incredibly exciting day for DRL," said DRL CEO and Founder Nicholas Horbaczewski.
"Our team has worked tirelessly to develop the technology, racecourses, and sporting rules needed to deliver the most elite, competitive, and thrilling drone racing league on the planet. We can’t wait to share it with fans around the world.
“ESPN, Sky and 7Sports will bring DRL to tens of millions of viewers around the globe while reflecting a collective commitment to DRL from the world’s best sport broadcasting companies. 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.”\
DRL races feature six pilots each flying a custom designed, hand built and identical DRL drone, the DRL Racer 2, through complex, thematic, three-dimensional racecourses.
As well as securing the broadcasting rights, in 2017, Sky and DRL will partner with London & Partners to bring an official DRL race to an iconic venue in London. This will be the first professional drone race in the UK.
