Granada Television

Affectionately known as ‘Granadaland’, Granada Television debuted in the North West on May 3, 1956, and expanded to Yorkshire six months later. Named after the Spanish city of Granada, the company was founded by brothers Cecil and Sidney Bernstein. Their original studios were located on Quay Street in Manchester, where they operated until relocating to MediaCityUK in Salford in March 2013.

Initially, Granada provided weekday coverage on both sides of the Pennines, sharing the weekends with ABC. However, in the 1968 franchise allocation, the Independent Television Authority (ITA) divided the region. Granada received a seven-day franchise for the North West, while the newly-established Yorkshire Television was granted a seven-day franchise for the area east of the Pennines. This decision infuriated Sidney Bernstein to the extent that he threatened to take the ITA to the United Nations.

Between 1994 and 2000, Granada expanded its reach by acquiring various ITV franchises. By the year 2000, the company owned LWT, Meridian, Anglia, Tyne Tees, Yorkshire, and Border, and had partial ownership of HTV and GMTV. In 2004, Granada merged with Carlton Communications to form ITV plc.