Sky deal puts drone racing on UK and Irish TV screens
Drone racing has arrived on UK and Irish TV screens, following a distribution deal between the Drone Racing League (DRL) and digital broadcaster, Sky, which invested $1m in the DRL and started airing elite drone racing on Sky Sports Mix in October. The DRL season features five races of around 90 seconds, including a winner-takes-all championship event. "It is really fun to watch", said DRL CEO and founder Nick Horbaczewski, who referred to the thrill of the sport as "basically Star Wars".

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Drone Racing has been described as the 'sport of the future' and it's coming to Sky Sports Drone Racing has been described as the 'sport of the future' and it's coming to Sky Sports

The Drone Racing League is coming to the Sky Sports Mix channel and you can enjoy the latest high-octane action from one of the world's fastest growing sports.

Sky has invested $1m in The Drone Racing League (DRL), and has agreed to a distribution deal that will see the thrilling world of elite drone racing come to the newly launched Sky Sports Mix channel.

Elite pilots use First Person View googles to guide their drones

DRL is the global leader of First Person View (FPV) drone racing, which features elite pilots each flying a custom-designed, hand-built drone, through complex, thematic, three-dimensional racecourses that have been compared to a real-life video game.

Drone Racing on Sky Sports Mix Introduction to Drone Racing Friday 4am Miami Lights October 24 6pm LA Pocolypse (Ep1) October 28 8pm LA Pocolypse (Ep2) October 31 9pm Project Manhattan (Ep1) November 5 8pm Project Manhattan (Ep2) November 7 9pm Fire City (Ep1) November 11 9pm Fire City (Ep1) November 14 9pm Finale: Starfighter November 21 9pm

The DRL media team creates and continues to innovate a custom-designed broadcast and race infrastructure to capture the fast, close-proximity racing.

In addition to Sky's investment, Sky Sports has completed a distribution partnership with DRL to bring live events and broadcast content to the UK and Ireland.

Airing as 10 one-hour episodes, the 2016 DRL season covers five races including a winner-take-all World Championship to crown the best drone pilot.

The best drone pilot will be crowned in the season-ending World Championship

The broadcasts will air from Friday at 4am on newly launched Sky Sports Mix when you can find out what drone racing is all about before the Series gets underway in October. Sky Sports Mix will provide an introduction to the sport for millions of Sky customers at no extra cost, with live sports every day.

Sky Sports and DRL will also team up with London & Partners to bring an official DRL race, the first professional drone race in the UK, to an iconic venue in London.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Want to know about Drone Racing? Here's a guide to the world's fastest growing sport Want to know about Drone Racing? Here's a guide to the world's fastest growing sport

Emma Lloyd, Group Business Development Director at Sky, 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.

"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."

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player First Person View racing brings pilots closer to the action in Drone Racing First Person View racing brings pilots closer to the action in Drone Racing

DRL CEO/Founder Nicholas Horbaczewski said: "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. 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."

Find out what it is all about watch our Introduction to Drone Racing on Sky Sports Mix from 4am on Friday September 16, with the series getting underway in October.