The Drone Racing League and Algorand Partner to Disrupt Sports and Gaming With Blockchain as the 2021-22 DRL World Championship Season Launches on NBC and Twitter

By AIT News Desk On Sep 15, 2021

Drone Racing League, the world’s premier professional drone racing property, and Algorand, the leading high performance blockchain platform, announced a long-term partnership that has no modern precedent in sports and entertainment. Recognized globally for cutting-edge technology, immersive sports entertainment, and thrilling, high-speed drone racing, DRL will bring to life next generation fan experiences on the Algorand blockchain.

Merging blockchain with drone racing is a bullseye for the league’s “tech-setter” fans, who are early adopters, open-minded to new forms of entertainment, and 40 times more likely to follow and engage with crypto social media than the general population. DRL will unveil blockchain-enabled ticketing, collectables, fan transactions and NFTs on Algorand, and welcome crypto developers, programmers and coders to Algorand hackathon events at DRL races around the world.

TECH POWERHOUSES INNOVATING SPORTS

Algorand and DRL are recognized as disruptive forces in their industries, pushing the limits of what is possible in sports and advanced technology. The companies share similar DNA – both have visionary founders, both revolutionize their industries with technology others have tried and failed to replicate, and both move at the speed of racing drones. Bringing scalable, fast, and decentralized gaming applications to DRL, Algorand’s blockchain will be the foundation for the sport of the future.

“The Drone Racing League’s global, tech-obsessed fans love that our sport constantly evolves, and blockchain was the next groundbreaking technology in our sights. Algorand shares our values of speed, innovation, and inclusivity. As the largest partnership in DRL’s history, we have ambitious plans to deliver a unique sports experience in the metaverse. We are incredibly excited about how this partnership will change the game for sports and tech fans and the blockchain community around the world,” said DRL President Rachel Jacobson.

“Algorand and the Drone Racing League are the most technically advanced, disruptive and visionary organizations in blockchain and sports respectively. We are excited that DRL will leverage Algorand’s technology to create immersive in-game experiences and introduce millions of technology enthusiasts to the possibilities that blockchain can bring to racing and to sports as we know them today,” said Steve Kokinos, CEO of Algorand.

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Over the next five years, Algorand will have the Title rights of the DRL World Championship circuit, DRL will develop a Digital Drone Racing series built into Algorand’s blockchain network, and the companies will showcase the power of Algorand blockchain through DRL’s broadcast, social and gaming channels. Excel Sports Management’s Properties division helped secure the historic, multi-year deal.

COMBINING STATE-OF-THE-ART TECHNOLOGY WITH STATE-OF-THE-HEART RACING

The news comes as DRL launches their 2021-22 DRL World Championship Season, which will combine the best of esports and real drone racing, starting on Wednesday, September 29th at 8pm EST on NBCSN and Twitter.

With expanded media partnerships with NBC Sports and Twitter, the 2021-22 DRL Season includes nearly 30 hours of action-packed drone racing during primetime slots, including on Christmas Day.

During the season, the world’s 12 best drone pilots race high-speed drones in spectacular courses across all dimensions. The elite pilots will aim to dominate 14 Levels of racing through iconic sports arenas and DRL SIM virtual maps to be crowned the World Champion. DRL race locations include: Allianz Field, home stadium of Major League Soccer’s Minnesota United, in St. Paul, Minnesota, FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee, home arena to the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies, and a championship race location to be announced. Virtual courses in the DRL SIM game on Playstation, Xbox, Steam and Epic Games include the newly released U.S. Air Force Boneyard – Night Mode Map.