After gaining a large following on YouTube, drone racing is accelerating its shift to mainstream television. The Drone Racing League, in which contestants race small helicopters through empty malls, stadiums and subway tunnels, will debut today on Walt Disney's ESPN2 network as part of an international TV roll-out.Two European television providers - Sky and ProSieben Sat.1 Media SE in Germany - said yesterday they would invest in the league and show the contests.Sky and ProSiebenSat.1 are taking part in a $12-million (about R174-million) fundraising for the league, said Drone Racing CEO Nicholas Horbaczewski."Ninety-nine percent of people have never heard of drone racing," Horbaczewski said. "This is a great chance to put something out there so people can get familiar with it."In drone racing pilots don virtual-reality headsets to fly identical, custom-designed craft through three-dimensional courses. Under the deals with the broadcasters, 10-hour-long episodes were prerecorded, featuring six contestants and giving viewers a video feed from the cockpit.Sport continues to be among the most sought-after programming by media companies, especially events that connect with hard-to-reach young male viewers.Last week John Malone's Liberty Media agreed to buy the parent of Formula 1 and agency WME-IMG signed to buy the mixed-martial arts UFC league in July."Drone races will be the Formula 1 of the future," Zeljko Karajica, who heads ProSiebenSat.1's 7Sports, said. "It's the perfect combination of racing, e-sports and virtual reality." ..