Watch out for trees: Warner Bros. Discovery Sports on developing a custom drone solution for the UCI Mountain Bike World Series 2025 By Heather McLean Friday, August 8, 2025 - 09:50
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Warner Bros. Discovery Sports has bought epic drone shots into its production of the UCI Mountain Bike World Series 2025
The first 11 rounds of the 2025 UCI Mountain Bike World Series have been a roaring success, with images from host broadcaster, Warner Bros. Discovery Sports, bringing fans ever closer to the thrilling action.
In 2023, a long-term partnership signed between Warner Bros. Discovery Sports and the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) meant that almost all major mountain bike formats were unified under a single brand for the first time, creating the UCI Mountain Bike World Series. The series consists of two main events: downhill and cross-country.
Also in 2023, the broadcaster took over the live production of each season's events, aiming to bring more innovation and better coverage to the series. From the beginning, drone coverage was seen as a way to push the production forwards.
Chris Ball, Warner Bros. Discovery Sports' vice president of cycling events, comments on how that first season went: When we started this project in 2023 we had our first season in 2023 the first thing that we wanted to bring in year one was live first person view (FPV) drones, which wasn't the first time [drones had been used in this type of sport], but it was the first time drones were really being used at this level in heavy tree cover for mountain biking.
It was a success, but the resolution wasn't ideal, continues Ball. We had challenges about trying to bring FPV drones into such a challenging outdoor environment in 2023, but we did use it at every event, and we also invested heavily in a cabled camera, which obviously gave us weather protection because drones can't always fly in mountain weather, with wind, snow, and rain. So with drones, with cable cameras, with an increasing [quality of] audio, we were like, this is cool . Everything engaged the audience really well, especially the FPV drone.
For the UCI Mountain Bike World Series drone development, Broadcast Rental is working with Proton, a specialist in miniature cameras, and drone companies Aeroplayfilms and Dutch Drone Gods
Zooming in
Broadcast Rental is playing an integral role in the production's content acquisition through a very specific RF drone solution, supporting Gravity Media, the technical services provider to Waner Bros. Discovery Sports.
Paul Chamalaun, CCO at Broadcast Rental, comments on the drone solution: It's a really specific part of the job. We are really zooming in on a small part of it, but that is because it's so specific and it is such a custom solution on one hand, and on the other hand we are trying to think outside of the box for future jobs as well, to make sure that we not only develop something for the mountain biking, but that we can also use it in other sports or for other of purposes.
Broadcast Rental has worked to create a complete drone solution that is fully integrated into the Warner Bros. Discovery Sports broadcast. Says Chamalaun: We have built together a balanced drone, and the rest is now up to [the crew so] they can go full creative, flying here and there or whatever they need to or want to do.
The success of the drones meant Warner Bros. Discovery has been able to reduce its use of caballed cameras along each course. Comments Ball: We slightly reduced our cable camera usage into the second and third year, which is where we are now, and increased our investment in the FPV drone. We also use a beauty drone as well to give that sense of scope and scale and where we actually are in the environment.
Custom development
Broadcast Rental worked with two drone companies for the UCI Mountain Bike World Series: Aeroplayfilms from Belgium; and Dutch Drone Gods from the Netherlands. Broadcast Rental went for two drone companies as there were so many races in the series, each happening in quick succession, that they could not realistically expect one company to be constantly available to fly their drone.
Comments Chamalaun on the development of the drones specifically for the mountain biking: It was really a collaboration, about how can we make the transmitter and the whole equipment essentially as light and as small as possible, and how can they adapt their drone build to make sure they can put [the equipment] somewhere safe on the drone, and fully integrate it into the whole power system battery packs that are integrated into the drone. So in both cases they built their own drones [for our use], so it's real custom from the drawings to the drones that flying now.
Pilots from Aeroplayfilms and Dutch Drone Gods attend the events and fly their drones for the broadcast. Notes Chamalaun: When you are working with the bigger drones, flying is so specific that the pilot needs to have experience with their own kit and they need to work with their own kit. The drones are really delicate, so they all want to fly their own equipment.
Read more:
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Pushing creativity: How wild weather and rugged locations are inspiring new production solutions at Warner Bros. Discovery Sport for the UCI Mountain Bike World Series
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Broadcast Rental has also worked with Proton, a specialist in miniature cameras, for the cameras used on the drones. Chamalaun says: We feel that with the cameras from Proton, they're also really looking ahead into the future in new developments.
Chamalaun comments on the challenges of getting RF coverage on a drone for
