Eurosport To Broadcast Drone Racing
Eurosport has announced it has signed a deal to broadcast drone racing events to more than 70 countries.
The broadcaster has signed a one-year deal with DR1 Racing, a Los Angeles-based drone racing organisation, to broadcast Drone Racing Invitations on 8th November as well as three additional races in summer 2017.
Sponsored by energy drink, Mountain Dew, the race has been broadcast on the Discovery Channel and Science Channel, as well as being live streamed on Twitch.
Discovery bought the pan-European sports media group last year, with the broadcasts of drone racing shown on TV after they have occurred on a post-produced basis alongside other footage available online.
There has also been interest in drone racing from other channels, with Sky announcing it would air the Drone Racing League as part of a £760,000 investment.
Founder of DR1 Racing, Brad Foxhoven said: “Eurosport showed a genuine appetite to not only broadcast drone racing through its linear broadcast channels but also play an important part in growing the sport via its social and digital platforms too.”
Eurosport CEO Peter Hutton said: “Eurosport is constantly looking to innovate and we believe new technology, be it Virtual Reality content in our coverage or innovations within emerging sports, is a great driver of engaging fans in sport.
“It has been fascinating to see the continued growth in popularity of eSports and the way DR1 combines this with the more traditional nature of sporting competition is an exciting model.
“We are looking forward to working with DR1 and offering fans the chance to follow the twists and turns of this exciting news sport on all Eurosport’s platforms.”
Image: ©Getty Images
