Soccer, Formula 1, drone racing - Sky takes to air with new sport

LONDON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Europe's leading pay-TV group Sky (LSE: BSY.L - news) , known for splashing out billions of pounds on coverage of glamorous sports to keep an edge over its rivals, said on Wednesday it had identified the next big thing: drone racing.

Sky, which has 22 million paying customers in Britain, Ireland (Other OTC: IRLD - news) , Germany, Austria and Italy, plans to add elite drone racing to its portfolio of European soccer and Formula One racing in a $1 million investment in the sport.

Drone racing features land-based pilots flying custom-designed radio-controlled aircraft through complex three-dimensional race courses at high speed. A mounted camera provides a live video stream.

Sky, which is 39 percent-owned by Rupert Murdoch's Twenty-First Century Fox, said it invested the money in the New York-based Drone Racing League and would show 10 one-hour episodes on a new channel from October in Britain and Ireland.

Sky pays huge sums for exclusive sports rights to lure subscribers. (Reporting by Peter Hobson; editing by Kate Holton and William Schomberg)