How ESPN Should Approach Drone Racing
It’s true that the traditional TV is winding down. Not the big screens though. Whether at home or in a theater, we love our big screens. And it’s also true that the small drones moving at high speed do not provide for much of live viewing excitement. But it doesn't mean that people shouldn't come together in a celebration of the event. Small size of the drones enables the whole race to be fitted in a stadium, and it often is. They key is then to sell out the whole stadium with a race within stadium premises, without tremendous cost or danger to the audience, yet full of unforgettable fun and excitement.
And there is a way. IMAX-grade screens in a dome arrangement at the center of the stadium, well viewable even from the furthest seats, projecting multiple views of the racing drone action, bird’s eye overview and telemetry, on board cameras, and even the kissing cam, in a mathematical arrangement of sub-screens which enable to follow live action from any of the seats, accompanied by a professional commentary from a stadium-wide sound system, orchestrated by a single team of professional commentators, video directors, editors, technicians, and all the existing resources ESPN has today, protecting the existing investments.
And because of drone size, the action is just a few inches of the acrylic glass away. Within transparent safety containment between the big screens and the audience, all the racing action ensues at the interweaving racetrack full of obstacles, power ups, traps, and disruptions. Wind accelerators providing massive boosts in speed at the cost of increased risk. Electromagnetic disruptions blocking the control signal requiring artificial intelligent controls on board the drone to take over. Because of low cost and low barrier to entry, anything goes, combining the best of Speed Racer, Mario Kart, Formula 1, Red Bull Air Racing, all in one unsurpassed stadium experience crowded with fans and community members, at astronomical excitement/cost ratio.