Sky announces seven-figure drone racing investment

Media giant Sky plc has invested $1m in The Drone Racing League (DRL) and agreed a distribution deal to add the aerial sport to its newly launched Sky Sports Mix channel.

DRL, which delivers first-person-view drone entertainment through a custom-designed broadcast and race infrastructure, will now be able to bring the niche sport before a wider audience.

In addition to the investment, Sky Sports has signed off on a distribution deal with DRL to bring both live events and broadcast content to the UK and Ireland.

The 2016 DRL season will air this October on Sky Sports Mix as 10 one-hour episodes covering five races, including a global championship to crown the world’s best drone pilot.

Elsewhere, Sky Sports and DRL are also set to team up with London & Partners, the capital’s official promotional company, to create the UK’s first ever professional drone race at an iconic venue in London.

Sky’s group business development director, Emma Lloyd, said: “We’re thrilled to be partnering with DRL to help develop this exciting new sport.

“The investments we make are all about driving innovation, and ultimately improving the Sky experience for customers.”

She added: “We’re really looking forward to working with the team at DRL to grow the sport and to bring something completely different to audiences across both TV and digital.”

The CEO and founder of Drone Racing League Inc., Nicholas Horbaczewski, commented: “This is an incredibly exciting day for DRL. 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.

“Having a distribution deal and strategic partnerships with Sky will bring DRL to tens of millions of viewers.”

He continued: “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.”

Drone Racing League pilots each fly a custom-designed, hand-built and identical drone through thematic 3D racecourses that have been likened to real life video games.