Drone racing is to air on Sky Sports after the broadcaster invested £760,000 in an elite league.

DRL

Sky Sports Mix will air five races from The Drone Racing League (DRL) from October as contestants race through complex, three-dimensional racecourses to be crowned the best drone pilot.

With races captured from a first-person point of view, the 10 x 60-minute series will track the progress of the custom-designed, hand-built drones and their pilots across the season.

Sky Sports and DRL also plan to tie with marketing business London & Partners to launch an official race at an iconic location in London.

The investment was made by Sky’s group business development director Emma Lloyd, who has previously backed VR firm Jaunt and multichannel network Whistle Sports.

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

DRL chief executive Nicholas Horbaczewski added he was keen to grow a global franchise around the futuristic sport. “Having a distribution deal and strategic partnerships with Sky will bring DRL to tens of millions of viewers,” he added.

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