ITV Granada facts for kids
Logo used since 2013
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The ITV Granada region
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| Type | Region of television network |
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| Branding | ITV1 |
| Country | |
| First air date | 3 May 1956 |
| Headquarters |
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| Broadcast area |
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| Owner |
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| Dissolved | lost on-air identity on 27 October 2002 (now known as ITV1 at all times) |
| Former names | Granada Television |
| Picture format | 1080i HDTV, downscaled to 576i for SDTV |
| Affiliation | ITV |
| Language | English |
| Replaced by | Yorkshire Television in Yorkshire from 1968 |
ITV Granada, also known as Granada Television, is a TV company that broadcasts to the North West of England and the Isle of Man. It is part of the larger ITV network.
From 1956 to 1968, Granada Television broadcast on weekdays. Another company, ABC Weekend TV, covered the weekends. Granada's original parent company, Granada plc, grew over time. In 2004, it joined with another company called Carlton Communications to form ITV plc.
Granada Television was famous for its unique "northern" style. Many of its shows featured realistic stories about everyday life. It was also known for its excellent dramas and documentaries. Before it merged with Carlton, Granada was the biggest independent TV producer in the UK. It made about 25% of all the shows for the ITV network.
Sidney Bernstein started Granada Television. Its first studios were on Quay Street in Manchester. Granada is the only original TV company from 1954 that is still broadcasting today. It covers areas like Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, and Merseyside. It also reaches parts of Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Cumbria, North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, and North Wales. In 2009, the Isle of Man also became part of the Granada region.
Granada Television began broadcasting on 3 May 1956. It quickly became known for its strong northern identity. Its logo was a special letter "G" that looked like an arrow pointing north. It often used slogans like "Granada: from the North." Today, the Granada name is mostly used for local news. The main channel is now known as ITV1.
The North West region is seen as one of ITV's most successful areas. In 2000, nine Granada shows were listed among the top 100 British TV programmes. Some of its famous shows include Sherlock Holmes, Coronation Street, Seven Up!, and World in Action. Many talented people worked there, like Paul Greengrass and Russell T Davies.
Contents
History of Granada Television
How Granada Started
Granada first started as a company that owned cinemas in the south of England. Sidney Bernstein and his brother Cecil founded it in 1930. They named it after the city of Granada in Spain.
In the 1950s, the Bernsteins became interested in commercial television. This was a new competitor to cinemas. Sidney Bernstein wanted to win the TV contract for the North of England. He thought it would not affect his cinema business in the south. In 1954, the Independent Television Authority (ITA) gave Granada the weekday contract for the North. ABC Weekend TV got the weekend contract for the same area.
Granada chose Manchester as its main base. Granada Studios was built on Quay Street in Manchester city centre. It was one of the first TV studios built just for television in the UK. Granada Television started broadcasting on 3 May 1956.
The north and London were the two biggest regions. Granada preferred the north because of its tradition of home-grown culture, and because it offered a chance to start a new creative industry away from the metropolitan atmosphere of London … the north is a closely knit, indigenous, industrial society; a homogeneous cultural group with a good record for music, theatre, literature and newspapers, not found elsewhere in this island, except perhaps in Scotland. Compare this with London and its suburbs — full of displaced persons. And, of course, if you look at a map of the concentration of population in the north and a rainfall map, you will see that the north is an ideal place for television".
—Sidney Bernstein on why he decided to form Granada Television in Manchester in 1954
Early Years and Success
Most early TV companies saw their regions as a temporary step to getting a contract in London. But Granada wanted to be different. It focused on a strong northern identity. This meant using northern voices and making northern-themed shows. Sidney Bernstein insisted that employees live or travel to Manchester.
Building new studios was expensive. Granada faced financial difficulties in its early years. It even made a deal with another TV company, Associated-Rediffusion, to help with its debts. However, ITV quickly became popular. Granada's financial situation improved. By the early 1960s, Granada was doing well. Its soap opera Coronation Street became very popular. Simple game shows like Criss Cross Quiz and University Challenge also did well.
Changes to the TV Regions
In 1968, Granada's contract changed. It began broadcasting all week in the North West. A new company, Yorkshire Television, took over the Yorkshire region. Sidney Bernstein was not happy about this split.
Granada kept its contract in 1980. It then invested in big drama shows. These included The Jewel in the Crown and Brideshead Revisited.
In the 1990s, the government changed rules for TV companies. This allowed them to buy other companies. Granada started to expand by buying several other ITV companies. This included LWT in 1994. By 2002, Granada and Carlton Television owned almost all the ITV companies in England and Wales.
Becoming ITV Granada
On 28 October 2002, ITV channels across the country were relaunched. Granada was renamed ITV1 Granada. The Granada name was shown before local programmes. However, this practice has mostly stopped. Now, most announcements come from London.
On 2 February 2004, Granada merged with Carlton to form ITV plc. Granada was the larger company in this merger. From 2004, Granada's shows were credited as "Granada Manchester." But by 2006, the name "Granada" stopped appearing at the end of programmes. The production part of the company was renamed ITV Studios.
In 2009, ITV made some changes to its regional news. Granada was one of the few regions not heavily affected. Its coverage area even grew to include the Isle of Man. ITV is required to make half of its programmes outside London. This means Manchester remains an important hub for ITV. In 2013, ITV Granada moved to new studios at MediaCityUK.
Studios
Granada built its first studio complex on Quay Street in Manchester. These studios were the first purpose-built TV studios in the UK. They were even built before BBC Television Centre. Sidney Bernstein made the studios seem bigger than they were. He gave them only even numbers, so it looked like there were twelve studios, even though there were only six.
In 2010, the famous red "Granada TV" sign on the roof of the Quay Street studios was removed. It was corroded and unsafe. The Science and Industry Museum in Manchester now owns the sign.
Moving to MediaCityUK
After the ITV merger in 2004, there was talk of selling the Quay Street site. ITV considered moving to MediaCityUK in Salford Quays. This is where the BBC had also moved. After several years of discussions, Granada announced in 2010 that it would move to MediaCityUK. It also planned to build a new studio there for Coronation Street. ITV Granada officially moved to MediaCityUK on 25 March 2013.
Identity and Logos
Throughout its history, Granada Television used a logo with an arrow pointing north. This was often seen with the tagline "from the North." Sidney Bernstein wanted to show a strong northern identity.
Granada Television was known for being "bolder" and more "gritty" than other TV companies. It focused on showing the northern style. Bernstein believed the north had "untapped creative energy."
From 1956 to 1968, Granada used captions with a thin arrow pointing upwards. This was often followed by the slogan "From the North." In 1969, the famous pointed "G" logo was introduced. This "G" symbol included the upward-pointing arrow. It became the main logo for the entire Granada Group. This logo was first white on a grey background. Later, it became a yellow "G" with white "GRANADA" text on a blue background.
In 1986, Granada celebrated its 30th anniversary with new computer-animated logos. From 1989, Granada used a translucent pointed "G" that rotated into place. In 1990, the logo changed again to a blue stripe with the "G" symbol. This was set against a plain white background.
In 1999, Granada started using the "generic hearts idents" that other ITV companies used. The pointed "G" logo was still shown in a box at the top of the screen. This dual branding of Granada Television and ITV lasted until 2002. After that, regional names were mostly dropped for the new ITV1 channel brand.
On 14 January 2013, ITV1 went back to its original name, ITV.
Famous Programmes
In 1958, Granada Television broadcast coverage of a local election. This was the first election ever shown on British television.
Granada was known for its ambitious documentaries. One famous example is Seven Up!, which started in 1964. This show followed the lives of 14 British children from age seven. It checked in with them every seven years to see how their lives were going. It is still running today and is considered a very important documentary series. Seven Up! was part of the World in Action documentary series, which ran from 1963 to 1998. This show was known for its tough investigative journalism. It helped prove the innocence of the Birmingham Six in 1991.
The classic northern soap opera, Coronation Street, began on 9 December 1960. It is still produced today and is the longest-running TV soap opera in the world. Granada also made other gritty dramas like A Family at War (1970–72).
Granada produced many international hits. These included Brideshead Revisited (1981) and The Jewel in the Crown (1984). It also made The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. These shows were sold around the world by Granada Television International.
Another popular show was the quiz show University Challenge. It first aired from 1962 to 1987. The BBC later brought it back, but Granada still produced it. The company also made The Krypton Factor from 1977 to 1995. Granada also produced comedies about life in the North West, like Nearest and Dearest and The Lovers.
Granada also featured pop music. Shows like Lift Off with Ayshea and Shang-a-lang were popular. So It Goes, hosted by Tony Wilson, showcased punk music. It featured bands like the Sex Pistols.
Notable People at Granada
Denis Forman and David Plowright were important leaders at Granada Television. They helped shape Granada's unique style. This style was seen as "non-conformist" and "non-London."
Many famous broadcasters started their careers at Granada. Some went on to create their own companies. Others became leaders in British television.
- Michael Apted started at Granada and created the Up series documentary.
- John Birt, Baron Birt worked at Granada before becoming the Director-General of the BBC.
- Russell T Davies worked as a writer at Granada in the 1990s.
- Paul Greengrass was a director for World in Action before becoming a film director.
- Jeremy Isaacs oversaw the production of World in Action and What the Papers Say.
- Jack Rosenthal was a writer for shows like The Dustbinmen.
Presenters
- Gordon Burns presented Granada Reports and The Krypton Factor.
- Richard Madeley joined Granada in 1982. He met Judy Finnigan there.
- Lucy Meacock has been a Granada news presenter since 1988.
- Michael Parkinson started his TV career at Granada.
- Tony Wilson presented Granada Reports and music shows. He was known for promoting Manchester music.
Other Ventures
Granada Studios Tour
The Granada Studios Tour opened in 1988. It was an entertainment park at the Quay Street studios. Visitors could see how TV shows were made. A highlight was visiting the set of Coronation Street.
Granada Sky Broadcasting
In 1996, Granada teamed up with BSkyB to create Granada Sky Broadcasting (GSB). This company provided content and new channels for satellite TV. Granada launched channels that showed old programmes from its archives.
GSB operated until 2004 when ITV plc was formed. ITV bought BSkyB's share. GSB was renamed "ITV digital channels Ltd."
Digital TV Ventures
Granada and Carlton invested in ONdigital, a digital TV service. It was later renamed ITV Digital. However, this venture was not successful. It closed in 2002. This led to job cuts and reduced budgets for shows at Granada.
Granada Plus
Granada Plus was a general entertainment channel. It was a joint project between Granada and BSkyB. It showed older programmes and was aimed at older viewers. It launched in 1996 and closed in 2004. It was replaced by ITV3.
Men & Motors
Men & Motors was a channel for male viewers. It launched in 1996. It showed programmes about cars and other topics. It lasted until 2010. Most of its shows moved to ITV4.
Granada Breeze
Granada Breeze was a lifestyle channel for women. It launched in 1996 and showed programmes on cooking, health, and home. It closed in 2002 due to low viewing figures.
Images for kids
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Granada Studios with the red logo and lattice broadcasting tower on the roof – both of which were removed
