26 May 2015
Catalyst Media Group plc
("CMG" or the "Company")
Announcement by SIS regarding Arena Racing Company and Racecourse Media Group announcement
CMG notes the press release issued by Arena Racing Company and Racecourse Media Group regarding their intention to create a single production centre.
Satellite Information Services (Holdings) Ltd. ("SIS"), a company in which CMG has approximately a 20.5 per cent. interest, issued the following statement in response to the press release:
SIS has confirmed that its relationship with Arena Racing Company (ARC) is likely to change when current contracts expire. This follows today's announcement of a joint venture between ARC and Racecourse Media Group (RMG).
Gary Smith, Chief Executive Officer at Satellite Information Services, commented: "We have spent the past few months in far-reaching discussions with ARC and with our bookmaker customers. Our hope was that we could create a more efficient relationship between bookmakers and ARC, facilitated by SIS, but sadly we have not yet been able to agree terms acceptable to both. The significant uncertainties affecting the retail betting industry, including the Betting Right and concerns about further restrictions on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals make this a very difficult time for our customers to be entering into long term deals for UK horseracing.
"Nevertheless, we wish ARC and RMG luck with their new initiative and of course SIS remains interested in the media and data that the new joint venture will create and willing to assist ARC in any way it can. As we understand it, the joint venture is primarily geared to collection and production of their media data. Neither ARC nor RMG have sold their media rights to any bookmakers, and in many ways this would be a complicated and difficult route to take. It may well make good business sense for the new enterprise to sell the media and data it produces to SIS for inclusion in the services we provide to bookmakers. The current contract obligations with ARC range between 18 and 30 months, and we remain fully committed to providing first class coverage of their fixtures throughout that period."
Mr Smith said that the company remained "100 per cent" committed to providing an outstanding product for its high street bookmaker clients, with continuing horseracing including racing from international venues, Ireland, and year-round fixtures from the new all-weather Chelmsford City racecourse, as well as a full greyhound product in association with Bookmakers Afternoon Greyhound Service (BAGS). This core retail offering is supplemented by a range of other betting products, including an exclusive live data contract for the Spanish La Liga's 2,500 matches a year. He also added that this week SIS has extended its long-standing relationship for retail / LBO rights for racing in Singapore, where it will also be introducing streaming for the first time. Mr Smith said SIS is well placed to provide the betting industry with the broad range of products necessary in a rapidly evolving market.
He added: "SIS is in a strong place right now, with zero debt, an outstanding range of products, and a diversification strategy that will continue rolling out over the months and years ahead. But we never lose sight of the fact that our primary clients are the high street bookmakers. We remain interested in the retail media and data rights from ARC, from RMG or from the many independent racecourses in the UK, as long as they are available at a price our customers will accept."
Enquiries:
Catalyst Media Group plc
Michael Rosenberg, Non-Executive Chairman +44 (0) 7785 727 595
Melvin Lawson, Non-Executive Director +44 (0)20 7734 8111
Strand Hanson Limited +44 (0)20 7409 3494
James Harris
Richard Tulloch
