ESPN and DRL announced a multi-year agreement to bring the thrill of FPV racing to the masses, covering telecast and digital distribution in North, South and Central America and the Caribbean. In the U.S., the 2016 season will air as ten, one-hour episodes covering five races on ESPN/ESPN2 beginning with an “Intro to DRL” episode tomorrow, Thursday, September 15 at 11 PM ET on ESPN2, and kicking off the full season on Sunday, October 23. ESPN will help connect a new audience to drone racing, committing to help innovate the space and leverage their expertise in growing emerging sports.
“Coverage of DRL lets us merge storytelling, technology and competition into compelling weekly content that we believe will appeal to a growing audience,” said Matthew Volk, ESPN Director, Programming & Acquisitions. “We look forward to delivering events and programming to passionate fans of this emerging sport.”
The ESPN/ESPN2 telecast schedule in the U.S.:
| Date | Time (ET) | Episode | Network |
| Thu, Sep 15 | 11:00 p.m. | Intro to Drone Racing | ESPN2 |
| Sun, Oct 23 | 9:00 p.m. | Intro to Drone Racing | ESPN2 |
| 10:00 p.m. | Race 1: Miami Lights | ESPN2 | |
| Thu, Oct 27 | 7:00 p.m. | Race 2, Episode 1: L.A.Pocalypse | ESPN2 |
| Sun, Oct 30 | 10:00 p.m. | Race 2, Episode 2: L.A.Pocalypse | ESPN2 |
| Thu, Nov 3 | 7:00 p.m. | Race 3, Episode 1: Project Manhattan | ESPN2 |
| Sun, Nov 6 | 10:00 p.m. | Race 3, Episode 2: Project Manhattan | ESPN2 |
| Thu, Nov 10 | 10:00 p.m. | Race 4, Episode 1: The Ohio Crash Site | ESPN2 |
| Sun, Nov 13 | 10:00 p.m. | Race 4, Episode 2: The Ohio Crash Site | ESPN |
| Sun, Nov 20 | 9:00 p.m. | Race 5, Episode 1: DRL 2016 World Championship | ESPN |
| 10:00 p.m. | Race 5, Episode 2: DRL 2016 World Championship | ESPN |