Over the past three years, the use of live drone coverage has become an increasingly hot topic in live sports production. Broadcasters and leagues see the potential to create unique new angles and capture competition like never before. However, drones have seen exponential growth in coaching videos and closed-set sports productions, but their use at sports events is still extremely rare because FAA regulations make it difficult to deploy drones in stadiums, arenas, and other venues filled with fans.
From left: Yeah Drones founder/director Randy Scott Slavin, SVG Senior Editor Brandon Costa, and Unmanned Aerial Systems Development co-founder Jeff Adams
With that in mind, a panel at SVG's FutureSPORT last week addressed the role drones play in sports production and the latest updates regarding FAA regulations, as well as how drone cameras are carving out a niche at events like the U.S. Open and X Games by capturing angles that would otherwise be impossible.
A drone realistically picks up where a crane leaves off and where a helicopter can start, and that is a really exciting space, said Randy Scott Slavin, founder/director, Yeah Drones. It can go from the crane [height] all the way up to 400 ft. When you [use a drone], it should be different than a helicopter or a crane. I say, at the risk of taking money out of my own pocket, that it should make sense. If you want something done that a crane or helicopter could do more easily, then don't hire a drone. But everything in between is exciting and new.
The Legalese: All About the 333 Exemption
The bulk of the conversation regarding drones continues to center on FAA regulations that limit nearly all uses in live sports -production. There are signs of progress, however: most notably, the agency's announcement last week that it will grant NFL and NFL Films permission to use drones and allow teams to film their own practices if they comply with local, state, and federal guidelines.
Currently, to operate a drone for commercial use (which includes anything from film and television production to scientific research and agriculture), a vendor must have an FAA 333 Exemption.
The FAA is working as diligently as a massive federal organization can to get regulations in place, said Jeff Adams, co-founder, Unmanned Aerial Systems Development. They keep saying six months [to institute] an infrastructure for pilots and air frames to get registered and for companies to step up and say, We are doing this commercially,' and get their licensing together. But it's going to take a long time because our airspace already has 7,000 vehicles in it every second of every day. If you add in 30,000 little pieces of plastic zipping around at 100 mph, it's a complex system to work out.
If a sports producer enlists a drone vendor to deploy aerial cameras, it must have a 333 Exemption, but, said Slavin, we need to be good stewards of the FAA rules. You shouldn't have to worry about that. That's our job.
Finding a Vendor Among the Drones
In any new bleeding-edge industry, it can be tough to select the best vendor from an army of up-and-comers. However, Slavin acknowledged that, while shooting with drones may be a different breed of production, it's not so different from hiring any other crew or vendor.
Flying a drone is no different than any of these other camera platforms. It's amazing technology and new and exciting, but the reality of the work is that it's not so different than a setting up a jib or technocrane or any other piece of equipment or hiring a Steadicam operator, he said. It's complex, but that shouldn't be something you have to worry about. You need to look at their reel, the quality of their work, and see what they have done and who their clients are.
The Challenge of Live
Although drones are becoming commonplace for film and episodic-television productions, live sports coverage is a different story altogether. Aside from the legislative obstacles, drone operators are still exploring the most efficient ways to integrate these tools into the live broadcast.
Live broadcast will throw different scenarios at you every second, Adams noted. Having a team that is able to adjust to those scenarios or find subject that is relevant at that point and can be taken live right at that moment is huge. And it's not easy to do.
Adams added that drone technology and design will also have to adapt if these sky-bound cameras are to become part of the everyday live sports coverage.
It will also boil down to some of the physical limitations of the systems right now, he said. Our airframe runs on batteries, so it needs to come down every 15 minutes. For live broadcast, the control room doesn't want a shot of my shoes while I'm changing the battery. There are developments coming in terms of more robust air systems with longer-term flight times. As those come on board, it will really help this technology translate into the live broadcast.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
15/06/2026
Detach from Direct-Attached: How Remote Editing with EVO Keeps Creative Teams Mo...
14/06/2026
Library captures 1960s R&B/pop drum sound
Following on from their recent wave of plug-in effects, Iconic Instruments have just launched an all-new virtual d...
14/06/2026
HBO Comedy Rooster Shot with URSA Cine 17K 65
Brie Clayton June 14, 2026
0 Comments
Large format brings viewers intimately close to characters.
Black...
13/06/2026
Latest expansion pack includes 252 presets
Devious Machines have recently introduced another expansion for their powerful multi-effects plug-in, Infiltrator...
13/06/2026
Create custom DAW/plug-in controllers using prompts
MetaGrid have recently introduced an all-new AI Builder function to their touchscreen-based control surf...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air seven Athletes Unlimited Softball...
12/06/2026
The United Football League will host its FAST Innovation Suite at the 2026 United Bowl presented by Credit One Bank on Saturday, June 13 at 3:00 p.m. ET at Audi...
12/06/2026
PTZOptics and LayerJot will present live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how natural-language AI prompting, robotic camera control, and on-device comput...
12/06/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026, featuring...
12/06/2026
Ateme has announced that Eurovision Services is using Ateme's software-based frame-rate conversion technology for international live event workflows. The de...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin and Simplestream have announced a partnership with Xperi to simplify the launch of OTT streaming services on TiVo OS smart TVs and devices. The collabo...
12/06/2026
Net Insight has announced that a multinational technology company is deploying a...
12/06/2026
MLB Players Inc., the business arm of the MLB Players Association, has announced a partnership with Athletes First to develop and sell brand partnerships across...
12/06/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall have announced the CommandKeyboard-Advanc...
12/06/2026
Comcast Smart Solutions announces a new smart technology deployment with Major L...
12/06/2026
Elevation Worship completed the initial leg of its Elevation Nights 2026 tour ...
12/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has announced KONA IP25 support for Colorfront Transkoder and ...
12/06/2026
Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8) will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7321, Ce...
12/06/2026
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould has announced the appointment of Scott Adametz as Chief Technology Officer. The Pac-12 describes the hire as the first CTO appo...
12/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced AMPP Edge Live, a production system combining Grass Valley hardware, NVIDIA Blackwell GPU acceleration, and AMPP OS in a single platf...
12/06/2026
At one time a trailblazer with the launch of the Longhorn Network, the Universit...
12/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
12/06/2026
Chyron has announced PAINT 10.4, an update to its illustrated replay and sports ...
12/06/2026
SVP, Production, Mark Gross: With the new schedule, with not having every Sunday night, it has given us an opportunity to take a step back and reimagine what o...
12/06/2026
For Televisa Technical Engineering Manager Roberto N nez Ibarra and the small team of 12 technicians and two production personnel at the IBC things are already ...
12/06/2026
Simple Steps to Better Acoustics - Taming The Small Room
Most of us mix in spare rooms and small spaces, where the acoustics fight us at every turn. At Gear...
12/06/2026
Latest addition expands vintage-inspired effects palette
Meris' Ottobit pedal range draws its inspiration from vintage gaming consoles, and the latest a...
12/06/2026
Soundbox-based chamber strings series expanded
Sonora Cinematic have just announced the launch of the second instalment in their Soundbox-based chamber stri...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
AJA Announces KONA IP25 Integration with Colorfront Software
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Collaboration enables uncompressed SMPTE ST 2110 I/O ...
12/06/2026
URSA Cine 12K LF Used to Create Visuals for STUTS' K-Arena Concert
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Organic visuals projected on a giant scre...
12/06/2026
MTI FILM Acquires Mango New Edit, Expanding its Global Post-Production Services ...
12/06/2026
AI Point Tracking Speeds Up Complex VFX Tracks in Mocha Pro
Jessie Electa Petrov June 12, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic point trac...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Simplestream, a provider of OTT and broadcast solutions, and technology provider Xperi, to...
12/06/2026
Leostream Corporation, creator of the world-leading Leostream Remote Desktop Access Platform, today announced Jigsaw24, a leading B2B IT solutions provider wit...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
How Aussie indie games and screen are levelling up with IP 11 June 2026
Ari Harrison, Pro Jank Footy
Head of Games Joey Egger and Ari Harrison of Umbrella sha...
12/06/2026
AgentPerf from Artificial Analysis, the industry's first agentic AI benchmark, gives developers, enterprises and infrastructure providers a clear way to com...
Over the past three years, the use of live drone coverage has become an increasingly hot topic in live sports production. Broadcasters and leagues see the potential to create unique new angles and capture competition like never before. However, drones have seen exponential growth in coaching videos and closed-set sports productions, but their use at sports events is still extremely rare because FAA regulations make it difficult to deploy drones in stadiums, arenas, and other venues filled with fans.
