With the sports world’s breakneck shift to digital, the Drone Racing League has so far taken a comparatively unusual approach to distribution by going directly to linear and disregarding digital. That will all change this upcoming season as the league inks its first digital distribution partnership after an exclusive three years on TV.
The professional racing circuit, which televises post-production shows of its live events, announced Tuesday that it is switching linear distribution partners to NBC from ESPN, and partnering with Twitter to digitally distribute races and other original content for the first time. This follows the company’s recent announcement of a three-year partnership with Youku, one of the largest streaming networks in China.
The new linear (NBC and NBCSN) and digital rights (Twitter) will take effect in August with the start of DRL’s fourth season. ESPN held the exclusive rights to the league’s first three seasons.
In an interview, DRL Co-Founder and CEO Nicholas Horbaczewski said many of the conversations about the league are already happening on Twitter and that this expansion marks an important step in meeting fans where they are. With distribution on the social platform, DRL has the ability to reach a global fan base and leverage the unlimited space that digital awards for new original content. DRL has already reached more than 57 million fans in its first three seasons through its linear TV broadcast.
“The No. 1 request from fans has been ‘How do I get it on digital?’” Horbaczewski said. “So to be able to bring the conversation together along with the content is a huge leap forward. Twitter has been innovating over the last few years with sports content and we’re excited to be joining the ranks, getting content out there, and allowing fans to engage.”
If there’s no passing it’s not racing.
pic.twitter.com/xtMUx6M2Zs
— Drone Racing League (@DroneRaceLeague) February 17, 2019
The company plans to use its in-house media team to produce deep-dive storylines about the league, races, pilots, and the drone and simulator technology that power everything. Content will be published on Twitter on an ongoing basis to keep fans engaged during and in between events, with Horbaczewski promising a “dramatic expansion” in DRL original content. The league also plans to leverage the real-time interactivity of Twitter to engage fans when they tune in live.
Digital will enable the DRL to stream more live content, such as the high-speed, minute-long time trials that have been crowd favorites at its in-person events, and behind-the-scenes shots of pilots and arena courses on race days. The races themselves involve identical, custom-built DRL drones speeding at more than 90 miles per hour around 3D courses held in iconic venues, such as palaces, museums, and football stadiums.
“The fast, non-stop action of the Drone Racing League fits perfectly with the always-on nature of Twitter,” said TJ Adeshola, Twitter’s head of U.S. sports partnerships, in a statement. “We’re excited to bring live video content from this futuristic robotic sport and pair it with the already active conversation around DRL.”
As for its switch to NBC from ESPN, the DRL is being added to a motorsports-heavy network that already serves as the home of racing series such as NASCAR, Indycar and Pro Motorcross. More than 44 hours of DRL coverage spanning the 2019 and 2020 seasons will be broadcast on NBC and NBCSN.
DRL is also maintaining an extensive array of international distribution partners for linear TV, including Sky Sports, ProSieben, OSN, FOX Sports Asia, and Groupe AB. Horbaczewski touted linear and its three years on ESPN as having “launched [DRL] into the mainstream.”
“Linear broadcast has done a lot for DRL. It gave us huge reach and instant credibility. It made us a sport,” he said. “Linear is still the king of sports at this point but that digital piece is answering something new and special for fans.”