Eurosport announced that it is partnering with DR1 Racing to broadcast drone racing. The first broadcast, the DR1 Invitational, will air from Van Nuys, Calif. on Nov. 8 and next year, Eurosport will also televise the DR1 Champions Series and the DR1 Micro Events.
In the race, competitors will attempt to navigate a remote control aircraft through an obstacle course as quickly as possible. Eurosport’s coverage will air in 70 countries across Europe and Asia.
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According to the Drone Racing League’s website, there are dozens of amateur events being held around the world. And while Drone Racing can be considered a sport of the future, up until now, it hasn’t been much of an activity for spectators.
Televising races has the potential to change that. And given that Eurosport prides itself on on being on the forefront of sport and technology, Eurosport CEO Peter Hutton sees the partnership with DR1 as a perfect fit.
“Eurosport is constantly looking to innovate and we believe in new technology, be it Virtual Reality content in our coverage or innovations within emerging sports, is a great driver of engaging fans in sport,” Hutton said in a statement. “It has been fascinating to see continued growth in popularity of eSports and the way DR1 combines this with the more tradition nature of sporting competition is an exciting model.”
According to Reuters, Eurosport has over 228 million subscribers in 93 countries, enabling drone racing to reach a much larger audience and build a bigger fan base.
Hutton told Reuters that races would not be aired live. Instead, they will be shown after they’ve happened in order to allow for clips to be edited together. The DR1 Invitational was held in June and had been live streamed on the DR1 channel on Twitch. Footage aired in a special on the Discovery Channel and Science Channel in August.
Eurosport isn’t alone on the drone racing broadcast train. Last month ESPN announced a multi-year partnership with the Drone Racing League and committed to showing 10, one-hour episodes on ESPN and ESPN2 that will cover five races. Their full season begins Sunday with coverage of the Miami Lights race at Hard Rock Stadium that took place last December.
Sky, Europe’s leading entertainment company, announced it was investing $1 million in Drone Racing last month. It’s set to broadcast 10 one-hour shows in the UK and Ireland on Sky Sports.