ESPN signed a deal to bring drone racing — high-speed aerial competitions among remote-controlled flying robots — to its networks.
“Drone racing is currently seeing an unprecedented rise in popularity and is poised to become the next behemoth racing sport alongside NASCAR and Formula 1,” Disney’s network said in a blog post.
ESPN said Wednesday that it has signed a multi-year international deal with the International Drone Racing Association (IDRA), a global organization for first-person-view drone racing. Under the partnership ESPN 3 will live stream this year’s U.S. and worldwide National Drone Racing Championships.
Following both events, an ESPN network will televise one-hour specials recounting the championships.
“Drone racing gives anyone the ability to fly like a superhero,” said Dr. Scot Refsland, chairman of the IDRA.
In the sport, contestants fly drones — small, multi-propeller aircraft — at high speeds around a racecourse. Pilots watch live video from a camera mounted on the front of the aircraft delivered to goggles over their eyes, and viewers can also watch the “first-person view.”
It follows ESPN’s move earlier this year adding a corner of its website dedicated to competitive video-game coverage known as eSports.
The move is the latest by one of the biggest brands in televised sports to cater to a growing, rabid audience for gaming as spectator entertainment. Watching other people play video games has surged in popularity, with competitions selling out stadiums and live-streaming sites like Twitch generating greater traffic than TV-streamers like Hulu.
6 Craziest Bets Facebook Is Making for the Next Decade (Photos)
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled a 10-year road map for the world's biggest social network, including projects in virtual reality and artificial intelligence, at its annual developers' conference F8 in San Francisco.
Facebook
Zuckerberg said he believes virtual reality headsets will be no different than traditional pairs of glasses in 10 years.
Screenshot/Facebook's F8 Live Stream
The company released a reference design for a camera shaped like a U.F.O. that can capture 360-degree video.
Facebook
Facebook Messenger is about to get an army of bots. Chatbots, which are programs powered by artificial intelligence that do simple things, are going to integrate into Facebook's instant messaging system. It makes it easier for companies like CNN to send you personalized stories and other tasks.
Facebook
Facebook is obsessed with live video, and it wants you to be able to stream live from any device -- even a drone. To mark a move opening up the programming to Facebook live streaming, Zuckerberg flew a drone out on stage that filmed everybody in the packed conference hall.
Screenshot/Facebook F8 Live Stream
Zuckerberg kicked off the conference by making a veiled jab at Donald Trump. “I hear fearful voices calling for building walls ... Instead of building walls, we can help build bridges," he said, as he explained that connecting the world is key to Facebook's future. (Maybe Trump won't notice: His preferred social network is Twitter, after all.)
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CEO Mark Zuckerberg believes you’ll watch VR on your regular old Warby Parker glasses in 10 years, see the other big announcements Facebook made at its annual F8 conference
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled a 10-year road map for the world's biggest social network, including projects in virtual reality and artificial intelligence, at its annual developers' conference F8 in San Francisco.