Drone racing is the new poker is the new athletics:
The National Drone Racing Championships start today [Friday] in New York. It's the second time the race will be held, but the first time ESPN will broadcast the event. If you're a broadcaster like ESPN, you've got options (there are many different kinds of sports, after all). So why drone racing? Well, it turns out poker plays a hand.
"I never really thought of poker as much of a sport, until you could make a million dollars playing it, and then [have] ESPN televising it," said Patrick Rishe, director of the sports business program at Washington University in St. Louis. "That just shows you, if there's money on the line, and if you have a passionate fan base out there, then you're going to have viewers."
ESPN wants those viewers. Especially young ones. Like the kind who guzzle down energy drinks while Snapchat-ing about cord cutting. They generally don't bother to subscribe to old-fashioned cable. Ray Katz, a managing partner with ROI Sports Marketing Group, notes that "banks and insurance companies want to reach consumers when they're younger. Men's and women's grooming companies want to reach consumers when they're younger."
Also at NYT. Here is the website for the National Drone Racing Championships. It will take place August 5-7 on Governors Island, New York City.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 06 2016, @05:33AM
They generally don't bother to subscribe to old-fashioned cable.
Sure that makes sense. If they didn't subscribe to cable, then they can't be cord cutters, because they didn't have any cord to cut. Hipsters be chatting about cord cutting ironically, natch.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 06 2016, @07:06AM
20-30 year old umbilical cords? Or are those just phone chargers they forgot to disconnect as they walked away?
(Score: 2) by richtopia on Saturday August 06 2016, @05:50AM
As much as I want drone racing to be a thing, I do not want to support ESPN.
(Score: 2) by deimtee on Saturday August 06 2016, @09:36AM
Only if you are talking about US Military/TLA drones. "Race 12 times around this 24 km track, and feel free to blow the other suckers out of the sky."
I'd probably watch that.
If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.
(Score: 2) by n1 on Saturday August 06 2016, @09:41AM
why do you want drone racing to be a thing?
(Score: 3, Funny) by rts008 on Saturday August 06 2016, @03:31PM
Drone racing?
What's next, shark jumping?
(Score: 2) by Anne Nonymous on Saturday August 06 2016, @04:43PM
C-SPAN has been doing this for years.
(Score: 2) by Joe Desertrat on Saturday August 06 2016, @09:17PM
No, those are droning races, not drone racing.