FOX has taken advantage of nearly empty grandstands at racetracks this season to try out some new things. One broadcast innovation that the company plans to stick with into the future is cameras attached to drones. Adam Stern of Sports Business Daily writes that for that to happen, the FAA would have to extend the loosened restrictions around drone use into the sport’s next season.
The network has been using a drone called the Alta 8. It has a five axis camera, which keeps shots steady no matter what moves the drone has to make in the air. The Freefly product retails for just under $18,000.
You don’t spend that kind of money on this kind of products to get typical shots. FOX director Artie Kempner told Stern that he hopes to be able to use the Alta 8 drone to follow along with a car and give the viewers at home an idea of what being in the driver’s seat feels like.
NASCAR coverage has been great given all the limits of placed on the crew I have been very happy with the way FOx has covered this season I hope NBC can carry the ball as well as FOX has
It’s not an Alta 8, it’s a custom hexacopter we at Beverly Hills Aerials built in conjunction with Watts Innovations out of Baltimore. In conjunction with that drone we’ve been using another custom fpv racing drone that can reach speeds up to 100mph.