Sports Information Services

Last updated

Sports Information Services Limited
FormerlySatellite Information Services Ltd.
TypePrivate
IndustryBroadcasting, Racing Services
Founded1986
Headquarters
Milton Keynes
,
United Kingdom
ProductsPicture, Data, Virtual Betting
Revenue £202.5 million [1]
£16.3 million (2017) [1]
Number of employees
392 (2017) [1]
Subsidiaries SIS LIVE Limited (2015–2018)
Website www.sis.tv

Sports Information Services [2] (SIS) is a company which provides content and production services to the betting industry; such as horse racing and greyhound racing, to betting shops in the United Kingdom and Ireland and other worldwide destinations. Previously, they provided news gathering services and specialised broadcast solutions to clients beyond betting industry.

Contents

It was formed in 1986 as Satellite Information Service, when bookmakers took the opportunity to broadcast live racing in their shops for the first time – previously only live audio commentary was broadcast to licensed betting offices (LBOs) and a 'whiteboard' man transcribed the shows and results in the LBOs. The service was launched initially in Bristol on 5 May 1987 and subsequently rolled out to approximately 10,400 bookmakers in the UK and Ireland.

SIS is owned by Ladbrokes 23%, Caledonia Investments 22.5%, Alternateport Limited 20.5%, William Hill Organisation 19.5%, Fred Done (co-owner of Betfred bookmakers) 7.5% and The Tote 6%. Minor shareholdings are also held by Leicester Racecourse Holdings Limited, The Bibury Club Limited (Salisbury), Stratford-on-Avon Racecourse Co. Ltd., Thirsk Racecourse Ltd., Catterick Racecourse Company Ltd. and Frontrelay Ltd.

Shareholder bookmakers account for approximately 5,800 LBOs receiving the SIS service. Each of the bookmaker shareholders have board members representing them on the SIS (Holdings) board in the form of Nick Rust (Ladbrokes), Fred Done (Betfred), David Steele (William Hill) and Joe Scanlon (Tote). [3]

In 2008 Amalgamated Racing Limited (trading as TurfTV) entered the marketplace and was SIS's only competitor for the distribution of horse racing and virtual racing products to LBOs in the UK and Ireland. TurfTV does not distribute to any of the worldwide locations serviced by SIS.

On 1 September 2016, seven independent racecourses (Fakenham, Ffos Las, Hexham, Newton Abbot, Plumpton, Ripon and Towcester) led by ARC (Arena Racing Company) started an alternative service known as The Racing Partnership ("TRP"). Racing from the six Arena courses including Doncaster, Southwell, Lingfield Park and Wolverhampton became available on TRP from 1 January 2017 with all other ARC and independent racecourses being added to the schedule over the following year. TRP's media technology and production and head of production are both ex-SIS employees.

In 2015 the SNG and connectivity part of the business was spun off as SIS Live Limited. On 9 October 2018, it was announced that NEP Group was to take over SIS Live, rebranding the firm to NEP Connect after a transition period. [4]

History

1986

SIS was formed in response to the impending change in the law. Betting shops were able to have televisions displaying live racing action, replacing the previous Extel service of commentary over a loudspeaker.

1987

Service launched on 5 May, supplying race coverage from two horse race and one greyhound meeting per day. Received by just 100 shops in Bristol with a target of 3,000 shops in its first year.

2002

Successfully renegotiated contracts with the UK and Irish bookmakers for a further five years. Appointed by the betting industry to manage its rights licence with 49 of the UK racecourses and to include those races within its services.

2003

The service supplied more than 1,200 UK horse race meetings per year, 1,500 greyhound meetings, 300 Irish and 300 South African horse race meetings and, as a response to the introduction of the National Lottery, a range of numbers betting products, including virtual horse and greyhound racing.

2008

SIS Live's OB14 outside broadcast unit Television OB UNIT (8724330276).jpg
SIS Live's OB14 outside broadcast unit

On 1 April 2008, BBC Resources sold its outside broadcasting division (BBC Outside Broadcasts) to SIS, and on 9 September launched the new combined company, SIS Live.

Now received in virtually all UK and Ireland shops, together with 300 outlets in Western Europe - a total of 9,500 shops. It was also broadcast to betting outlets in the Caribbean, Sri Lanka, Italy and the former USSR.

2011

SIS became a partner with Peel Media for the operation of the studios and associated post-production facilities at MediaCityUK - operating under the name of Media City Studios Ltd (MCSL), rebranded in 2012 as Dock10.

2012

A number of functions and departments moved to the MediaCityUK complex in Salford, Greater Manchester. Opened one of the largest teleports in the UK. Broadcast 80 hours of television for the betting shop industry every day from its facilities in MediaCityUK and also duplicated from its Milton Keynes base, together with the various satellite downlinks and uplinks for broadcasters around the world including European Tour Golf, Asian Tour Golf, BBC, ITV, ITN, Channel 4, Intelsat, British Sky Broadcasting – Sky News, Sky Sports, Sky Arabia & RRSat in Israel.

2013

November 2013 SIS announced the signing of a seven-year contract with ITV regional news and ITN, to provide HD capable SNG trucks using Ka band satellite capacity.

2014

In March 2014 SIS Live closed the outside broadcast department it had acquired in 2008 and withdrew from the market. [5]

2015

SIS Live SNG vehicle covering the 2014 Glasgow bin lorry crash SIS Live (16080563141).jpg
SIS Live SNG vehicle covering the 2014 Glasgow bin lorry crash

After many years operating as just a trading name, the SNG and connectivity segment of the business became a separate legal entity, SIS Live Ltd. Sharing the same CEO as SIS Ltd, the newly formed SIS Live Ltd became responsible for its own commercial decisions.

2017

In January 2017 SIS announced a change of name, choosing to keep the SIS acronym but changing the first S's meaning from Satellite to Sports. The official line was "Satellite Information Services does not accurately reflect where we are today, and where we want to be".

2018

Having already become a separate legal entity, SIS Live Limited was taken over by NEP Group, which rebranded the firm as NEP Connect after a two-month transition period. NEP Connect continues to be a supplier to SIS. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Betting shop</span>

In the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, a betting shop is a shop away from a racecourse ("off-course") where one can legally place bets in person with a licensed bookmaker. Most shops are part of chains, including William Hill, Ladbrokes, or Coral. In Australia and New Zealand, they are operated by totalisator agencies. In the United States post PASPA, brands like DraftKings, FanDuel and William Hill have a presence Betting shops include America's Betshop and Betfred.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ladbrokes Coral</span> British-based betting and gambling company

Ladbrokes Coral is a British gambling company founded in 1886. Its product offering includes sports betting, online casino, online poker, and online bingo. The Ladbrokes portion of the group was established in 1886, and Coral in 1926. In November 2016, the companies merged to create Ladbrokes Coral Group. Since March 2018, it has been owned by Entain. Prior to its sale, Ladbrokes Coral was listed on the London Stock Exchange, and was a member of the FTSE 250 Index.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Totalisator Agency Board</span> Gambling agencies in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa

The Totalisator Agency Board, universally shortened to TAB or T.A.B., is the name given to monopoly totalisator organisations in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. They operate betting shops and online betting. They were originally government owned, but in Australia most have been privatised. In Victoria, for instance, the Victorian Totalisator Agency Board began operating in March 1961 as a state enterprise, and was privatised in 1994.

Coral is a chain of betting shops in the United Kingdom, owned by Entain. The Coral business was established by Joe Coral in 1926. It grew into an entertainment conglomerate before undergoing a series of ownership changes starting in 1981. As of 2015, Coral had 1,845 shops across the country.

Romford Greyhound Stadium, referred to as Coral Romford Greyhound Stadium is a greyhound racing track located in Romford town centre in the London Borough of Havering in east London which is owned and operated by the Ladbrokes Coral group. The stadium has a capacity for over 1,700 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Tote</span> Betting organization

The Tote is a British gambling company founded in 1928. It is the world’s largest pool betting operator. Its product offering also includes sports betting and online casino. It is headquartered in Wigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BoyleSports</span> Irish betting company

BoyleSports is an Irish gambling company founded in 1982. Its product offering includes sports betting, online casino, online poker, and online bingo. Headquartered in Dundalk, the business is split into two divisions, online and retail. Retail operations are conducted from its Dundalk base, while its online business operates from its satellite office in Gibraltar. As of 2023, BoyleSports has over 320 retail branches throughout Ireland and the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Betfred</span> UK bookmaker

Betfred is a bookmaker based in the United Kingdom, founded by Fred Done. It was first established as a single betting shop in Ordsall, Salford, in 1967. Its turnover in 2004 was reported to be more than £3.5 billion, having risen from £550 million in 2003 and has continued to grow to over £10 billion in 2018-2019. It has its head office is in Birchwood, Warrington, and also has offices in Media City, Salford Quays, Salford.

Arena Racing Company, also called ARC Racing and Leisure Group is a UK private company, created in 2012 by the merger of Arena Leisure and Northern Racing. It owns and operates 16 racecourses in Great Britain, accounting for 39% of British racing fixtures. It also operates hotels at Wolverhampton Racecourse and Lingfield Park Racecourse and golf courses at Lingfield, Southwell and Newcastle. Following the purchase of Nottingham Greyhound Stadium in 2020 the company became the leading greyhound racing operator in the UK. In November 2022, it was announced Arena Racing Company had acquired the Athens-headquartered omni-channel content distributor, Vermantia.

Dunmore Stadium was a greyhound racing track located in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year</span>

The 2018 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 93rd year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

The 1961 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 35th year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1963 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year</span>

The 1963 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 37th year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1978 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year</span>

The 1978 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 52nd year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

The 1986 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 60th year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

The 1987 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 61st year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

The 1990 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 64th year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

The 2019 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year is the 94th year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The year marked an end of an era when the 94-year-old company the Greyhound Racing Association (GRA) or more recently the GRA Acquisition came to an end.

The 2021 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 96th year of greyhound racing in the Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Greyhound racing in Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colossus Bets</span> UK-based betting company

Colossus Bets is a British bookmaker specialising in pools betting. The Colossus Bets is headquartered in London, England, and was founded by former Monsanto PR operative Bernard Marantelli and Zeljko Ranogajec in 2013. The bookmaker currently focuses in pools betting by incorporating modern betting features such as Cash Out and Syndicates, currently holding seven US patents. As well as offering lottery-sized jackpots.

References

  1. 1 2 3 31 March 2017 P&L account
  2. ↑ "SIS rebrand goes live - SiS". SiS. 27 January 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  3. ↑ Report and Financial statement to 31 March 2008
  4. ↑ "NEP Group acquires SIS Live". Broadcast. Broadcast Now.
  5. ↑ Bevir, George (22 October 2013). "SIS Live to close its OB division". Broadcast. Broadcast Now. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  6. ↑ "NEP Group Acquires SIS LIVE". SIS LIVE. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.