ITV Granada

ITV Granada
	Logo used since 2013
	The ITV Granada region
Type	Region of television network
Branding	ITV1
Country	United Kingdom; Isle of Man;
First air date	3 May 1956
TV transmitters	Winter Hill; (formerly Emley Moor);
Headquarters	MediaCityUK, Salford, Greater Manchester; (previously Granada Studios, Manchester);
Broadcast area	Cheshire; Greater Manchester; Lancashire; Merseyside; Derbyshire (part); Staffordshire (part); Cumbria (part); North Yorkshire (part); West Yorkshire (part); North Wales (part); Isle of Man (formerly covered by ITV Border); (Before 1968, Yorkshire on weekdays);
Owner	ITV plc; (formerly Granada plc from 1954 to 2004);
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(s)	ITV
Official website	itv.com/granada
Language	English
Replaced	ABC Weekend TV at weekends from 1968
Replaced by	Yorkshire Television in Yorkshire from 1968

ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend Television was its weekend counterpart. Granada's parent company Granada plc later bought several other regional ITV stations and, in 2004, merged with Carlton Communications to form ITV plc.

Granada Television was particularly noted by critics for the distinctive northern and "social realism" character of many of its network programmes, as well as the high quality of its drama and documentaries. In its prime as an independent franchisee, prior to its parent company merging with Carlton Communications to form ITV plc, it was the largest Independent Television producer in the UK, accounting for 25% of the total broadcasting output of the ITV network.

Granada Television was founded by Sidney Bernstein at Granada Studios on Quay Street in Manchester and is the only surviving franchisee of the original four Independent Television Authority franchisees from 1954. It covers Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, and parts of Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Cumbria, North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and North Wales. In 2009, the Isle of Man was transferred to Granada from ITV Border.

Broadcasting by Granada Television began on 3 May 1956 under the North of England weekday franchise, the fifth franchise to go to air. It was marked by a distinctive northern identity and used a stylised letter "G" logo forming an arrow pointing north, often with the tagline "Granada: from the North".^[1] Granada plc merged with Carlton Communications to form ITV plc in 2004 after a duopoly had developed over the previous decade. The Granada name, as with those of the other former regional licence holders, is only referenced onscreen during regional news bulletins and the weeknight regional news magazine; ITV Broadcasting Limited operates the service with national ITV branding and continuity.

The North West region is regarded as ITV's most successful franchise.^[2]^[3]^[4] Nine Granada programmes were listed in the BFI TV 100 in 2000. Some of its most notable programmes include Sherlock Holmes, Coronation Street, Seven Up!, The Royle Family, The Jewel in the Crown, Brideshead Revisited, World in Action, University Challenge and The Krypton Factor. Notable employees have included Paul Greengrass, Michael Apted, Mike Newell, Jeremy Isaacs, Andy Harries, Russell T Davies, Leslie Woodhead, Tony Wilson, Roland Joffe, Derek Granger, Gordon McDougall and Dan Walker.

^ Liddiment, David (24 November 2003). "London calling". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
^ Cite error: The named reference andthen was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "Obituary – David Plowright". The Independent. 29 August 2006. Retrieved 4 February 2012. As he himself liked to quote, not for nothing had Granada been dubbed the best commercial television company in the world.
^ "Party People returns as presenter Rob McLoughlin celebrates thirtieth year at ITV". 25 January 2012. Archived from the original on 19 April 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2012. The Financial Times was to claim that 'Granada was probably the best commercial TV company in the world' – with respect to Thames TV; LWT and our American cousins – they may have been right but when that quote was hauled over reception in Quay Street I found it both inspiring and daunting.

[clark-1] Liddiment, David (24 November 2003). "London calling". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 20 June 2011.

[andthen-2] Cite error: The named reference andthen was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[3] "Obituary – David Plowright". The Independent. 29 August 2006. Retrieved 4 February 2012. As he himself liked to quote, not for nothing had Granada been dubbed the best commercial television company in the world.

[4] "Party People returns as presenter Rob McLoughlin celebrates thirtieth year at ITV". 25 January 2012. Archived from the original on 19 April 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2012. The Financial Times was to claim that 'Granada was probably the best commercial TV company in the world' – with respect to Thames TV; LWT and our American cousins – they may have been right but when that quote was hauled over reception in Quay Street I found it both inspiring and daunting.

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