SISBlog
May 10th - 2012
3 Comments | Categories: LBOs
As SIS celebrates the 25th anniversary of its first broadcast to betting shops, Managing Director GEORGE IRVINE looks back on a remarkable quarter century.
A little over 25 years ago, my then-boss decided to write an article entitled “Satellite Racing – Pie in the Sky”. It was so contrary to everything I believed, I left the company – and joined the fledgling SIS.
At the time, betting shops had black and white text screens, audio information and no pictures. A Tory MP called Ian Gilmour introduced a bill in 1986 allowing LBOs to put a TV in the shop to show BBC or ITV coverage of big races such as the Grand National or the Derby.
Extel, the company I left, and Satellite Racing Development (SRD), SIS’s forerunner, were competing for the contract to broadcast live pictures. SRD had been set up to look into the feasibility of satellite broadcasting - and remember this was before Sky - and whether it was cost-effective. There was also some debate about whether it could cover the...
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