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122-520: U&Gold is a British premium television channel from the UKTV network that was launched in late 1992 as UK Gold before it was rebranded UKTV Gold in 2004. In 2008, it was split into current flagship channel Gold and miscellaneous channel, W , with classic comedy based programming now airing on Gold, non-crime drama and entertainment programming airing on W, and quiz shows and more high-brow comedy airing on Dave . It shows repeats of classic programming from

244-469: A trial period , often one to three months, though there have been rare instances of free trials for pay services that last up to one year for newer subscribers to that provider's television service. Pay television has become popular with cable and satellite television . Pay television services often, at least two to three times per year, provide free previews of their services, in order to court potential subscribers by allowing this wider audience to sample

366-649: A boxed "UK" followed by the name (e.g. "Gold") in the Gill Sans font, which had also been adopted by the BBC . The new network-wide ident theme would involve the splitting of the screen for different purposes. UK Gold's new idents depicted objects such as apples or leaves falling through the top half of the screen, with only the gold coloured ones reaching the bottom half of the screen. These idents were briefly adopted for UK Gold 2 when it launched in 1998. The theme changed again, this time with idents featuring fireworks making shapes in

488-648: A competitor to the cinema chains, through the launch of ITV . Bernstein bid for the North of England franchise, which he believed would not affect the company's largely southern-based cinema chain. In 1954, the Independent Television Authority (ITA) awarded Granada the North of England contract for Monday to Friday, with ABC Weekend TV serving the same area on weekends. The companies used the ITA's Winter Hill and Emley Moor transmitters , covering Lancashire and

610-595: A contemporary stamp on the channel." Commissioning editor Sarah Fraser commented that "there's never been a better time to invest in homegrown comedy. Comedians are selling out arena tours, being cast in the West End and on the big screen here and in the US." The first programme announced as part of the investment was a reboot of the BBC sitcom, Yes, Prime Minister , to be based on the 2010 stage production and written by original writers Sir Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn . The reboot

732-582: A coveted London franchise. In contrast, Granada determined to develop a strong northern identity – northern voices, northern programmes, northern idents with phrases such as Granada from the north , From the north — Granada and Granadaland . Bernstein refused to employ anyone not prepared to live in or travel to Manchester and Jeremy Isaacs called him a "genial tyrant" as a result. I think that what Manchester sees today, London will see eventually. Bernstein decided to build new studios rather than hiring space or converting old buildings, an approach favoured by

854-406: A crude decrypting of the over-the-air television signal and a decoding box, but never caught on for use at that time. It took another four decades when cable broadcasters started using pay-per-view on a widespread basis. "Free" variants are free-to-air (FTA) and free-to-view (FTV); however, FTV services are normally encrypted and decryption cards either come as part of an initial subscription to

976-483: A few seconds after the continuity before the programme, and continuity was rarely given over the symbol. On 1 September 1989, Granada Television launched a look featuring a translucent pointed G, which rotated into place in time to the music against a natural scene. When the first ITV generic look was launched, Granada Television refused to adopt it, because the Granada Television logo was incorrectly inserted into

1098-627: A focus on their parent companies' libraries, with HBO Now replaced by HBO Max (now Max) in 2020 (which adds content from other Warner Bros. properties and third-parties, and would also be included with existing HBO subscriptions via television providers), and Showtime formally merging with Paramount+ in 2023. Canadian premium service The Movie Network similarly merged with the CraveTV service owned by parent company Bell Media in 2018. Pay-per-view (PPV) services are similar to subscription-based pay television services in that customers must pay to have

1220-460: A form-up of the first logo against a blue background. A rebranding in 1994 saw UK Gold adopt idents based on the forging of gold bars, with the station's logo appearing to have been stamped into gold. Variations on this theme were used until 1997, when the channel received a revamp as part of the formation of the UKTV network. The new network's corporate identity saw all its channels logos simplified to

1342-436: A full 24-hour schedule to match its parent network. On 8 March 2004, to coincide with its sister channel's rebranding, the channel rebranded to UKTV Gold with its timeshift becoming UKTV Gold +1. At approximately the same time, Granada -run archive channel Granada Plus closed to make way for ITV3 . The channels had always been the main rivals to Gold due to the direct mix of archive BBC and ITV programming. ITV3 currently has

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1464-403: A halt by the appearance of a golden light accompanied by the channel's ident jingle. This new identity also featured a series of shifting yellow, orange and red blocks which suggested a gold bar at the centre of the screen. On 4 April 2007, UKTV Gold unveiled a new on-air identity centred around a branded golden space hopper , playing to contemporary trends toward 1970s nostalgia, and emphasising

1586-462: A higher viewer share, often put down to the fact that the terrestrial platform Freeview shows ITV3 but not Gold. In late 2004, to show films produced in Hollywood in a marathon, UKTV Gold temporarily changed its name to "USTV Gold". Gold began transmitting in widescreen on 31 January 2008, although some programmes made in 16:9 format were screened in the compromise 14:9 semi- letterboxed ratio for

1708-513: A lower subscription fee. These are called "mini-pay" channels (a term also used for smaller scale commercial-free pay television services) and are often sold as a part of a package with numerous similarly priced channels. Usually, however, the regular pricing for premium channels ranges from just under $ 10 to near $ 25 per month per suite, with lower prices available via bundling options with cable or satellite providers, or special limited offers which are available during free preview periods or before

1830-417: A main flagship channel is accompanied by secondary services with distinct schedules focusing on specific genres and audiences (such as multiplexes focusing more on "classic" films, or family-oriented programming), time shifting , or brand licensing deals (such as channels focusing specifically on Disney films , or content from U.S. pay television brands if they do not specifically run their own network in

1952-535: A mix of original series, films, and specials. The shift towards SVOD has resulted in increasing competition within the sector, with media conglomerates having launched their own services (such as Disney+ , Paramount+ , Peacock , and Disney's acquisition of the majority of Hulu ) to compete, and existing premium networks such as HBO ( HBO Now ) and Showtime launching direct-to-consumer versions of their existing services to appeal to cord cutters . HBO and Showtime later absorbed their DTC offerings into wider services with

2074-405: A pay television bouquet – in other words, an offer of pay-TV channels – or can be purchased for a one-time cost. FTA and FTV systems may still have selective access. ABC Australia is one example, as much of its programming content is free-to-air except for National Rugby League (NRL) games, which are encrypted. Granada Television ITV Granada , formerly known as Granada Television ,

2196-689: A restriction as a few providers optionally sell that service without requiring a Showtime subscription. Unlike other cable networks, premium services are almost always subscribed to a la carte , meaning that one can, for example, subscribe to HBO without subscribing to Showtime (in Canada, there are slight modifications, as most providers include U.S. superstations – such as WAPA-TV – with their main premium package by default). However, subscribing to an "individual" service automatically includes access to all of that service's available multiplex channels and, in some cases, access to content via video-on-demand (in

2318-425: A seasonal package. They are typically the most expensive type of pay services, generally running in the range of $ 35 to $ 50 per month. Some pay services also offer pornographic films ; Cinemax was well known for carrying a late-night block of softcore films and series known as "Max After Dark"—a reputation that led to the network often being nicknamed "Skinemax" by viewers. Cinemax phased out this programming in

2440-514: A series of films featuring flags with its logo against various scenes in the region, accompanied by the slogan 'Setting the Standard'. These introduced local programming, Granada Reports , or promotions. On 2 January 1995, the stripe theme was modified; the pointed "G" was larger on the blue stripe against a computer generated multicoloured background and the "G" was created by filming a large perspex "G" with motion control photography . This ident

2562-540: A short time during the 1980s, and unlike other general-interest pay services accepted outside advertising for broadcast during its sports telecasts), Preview , SelecTV and ON TV in the late 1970s, but those services disappeared as competition from cable television expanded during the 1980s. In Australia , Foxtel , Optus Television and TransACT are the major pay television distributors, all of which provide cable services in some metropolitan areas , with Foxtel providing satellite service for all other areas where cable

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2684-455: A short while, before the 16:9 format became standard later in the year. The channel has been criticised by some, particularly in recent years, for featuring many recent programmes as opposed to 'classics' as was the original concept, with some shows appearing on the channel mere months or weeks after their first television broadcast. In 2008, UKTV began a process of rebranding and expanding its channels, removing "UKTV" from their name, following

2806-401: A specific market). Typically, these services are bundled together with the main channel at no additional charge, and cannot be purchased separately. Depending on local regulations, pay television services generally have more lenient content standards because of their relatively narrower distribution, and not being subject to pressure from sponsors to tone down content. As a result, programming

2928-481: Is Canal+ and its scrambled services, which operated in France from 1984 to the 2011 closedown of analogue television, Spain from 1990 to 2005 and Poland from 1995 to 2001. Some U.S. television stations launched pay services (known simply as "subscription television" services) such as SuperTV , Wometco Home Theater , PRISM (which principally operated as a cable service, only being simultaneously carried over-the-air for

3050-487: Is most synonymous with premium entertainment services focused on films or general entertainment programming such as, in the United States, Cinemax , HBO , MGM+ , Showtime , and Starz , but such services can also include those devoted to sports , as well as adult entertainment . In contrast to most other multichannel television broadcasters, which depend on advertising and carriage fees as their sources of revenue,

3172-701: Is not available. Austar formerly operated as a satellite pay service, until it merged with Foxtel and SelecTV . The major distributors of pay television in New Zealand are Sky Network Television on satellite and Vodafone on cable. In the 2010s, over-the-top subscription video on demand (SVOD) services distributed via internet video emerged as a major competitor to traditional pay television, with services such as Amazon Video , Hulu , and Netflix gaining prominence. Similarly to pay television services, their libraries include acquired content (which can not only include films, but acquired television series as well), and

3294-528: 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

3416-717: Is typically aired with limited to no edits for time or, where applicable, mature content such as graphic violence , profanity , nudity , and sexual activity . As premium television services are commonly devoid of traditional commercial advertising, breaks between programming typically include promotions for upcoming programs , and interstitial segments (such as behind-the-scenes content, interviews, and other feature segments). Some sports-based pay services, however, may feature some commercial advertising, particularly if they simulcast sporting events that are broadcast by advertiser-supported television networks. In addition, most general interest or movie-based pay services do not adhere to

3538-480: The 1958 Rochdale by-election , the first election to be covered on television in Britain. Granada's coverage was broad in scope, and it also broadcast two candidate debates. Over 50 years later, Granada Studios hosted the first General Election debate among the leaders of the three main political parties. Granada's boldness was seen in ambitious documentaries such as Seven Up! , which premiered in 1964. The programme

3660-506: The BBC , ITV and other broadcasters. Every December, from 2015 until 2018, the channel was temporarily renamed Christmas Gold. This has since been discontinued, although the channel still continues to broadcast Christmas comedy. The channel was formed as a joint venture between the BBC , through commercial arm BBC Enterprises , American company Cox Enterprises and outgoing ITV London weekday franchisee Thames Television , known as European Channel Management. The channel, named "UK Gold",

3782-595: The Isle of Man . Parts of North Wales can receive only the Winter Hill transmissions (i.e. Granada) rather than HTV . Granada retained its franchise in the 1980 franchise review, and invested in multimillion-pound dramatic serial productions such as The Jewel in the Crown and Brideshead Revisited . By the late 1990s the UK commercial broadcasters were considered too small to compete in

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3904-461: The West and East Ridings of Yorkshire , including the major conurbations around Liverpool , Manchester, Leeds , Bradford , Sheffield , York and Doncaster . 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 …

4026-535: The Wimbledon tennis tournament. Specialty pay sports channels also exist—often focusing on international sports considered niche to domestic audiences (such as, in the United States, cricket ), and are typically sold at a higher expense than traditional premium services. Out-of-market sports packages in North America are multi-channel pay services carrying professional or collegiate sporting events which are sold in

4148-555: The business cycle , some broadcasters try to balance them with more stable income from subscriptions. Some providers offer services owned by the same company in a single package. For example, American satellite provider DirecTV offers the Encore channels along with the Starz multiplex (both owned by Lionsgate 's Starz Inc. ) in its "Starz Super Pack"; and The Movie Channel , Flix and SundanceTV (the latter of which continues to be sold in

4270-408: The "V" segment of the logo, with the line connecting the "G" and the arrow not being added entirely. The company used a version with its translucent logo shown at the beginning, before continuing with the generic ident and ending with the generic ITV logo. On 4 June 1990, Granada Television, in the run-up to the 1990 franchise round, relaunched its on-screen branding to a blue stripe descending from

4392-536: The 'quality threshold' applied by the Independent Television Commission . This requirement disadvantaged companies with no previous franchise experience. Granada owned popular television series such as Coronation Street , which it threatened to sell to satellite TV if the franchise was lost. The government responded by relaxing the regulatory regime, so that ITV contractors could take over other companies, and Granada bought several companies. Some at

4514-411: The 2009 ITV regional news cutbacks, Granada was one of three regions unaffected by changes, except for extending its coverage area to include the Isle of Man , which had previously been served by ITV Border. ITV is obliged by UK communications regulator Ofcom to produce 50% of its programmes outside London, something it failed to achieve in 2007 and 2008. With this obligation, retaining Manchester as

4636-586: The 2010s, citing that it did not align with its current focus on action programming, and that internet porn and the amount of sexual content in other mainstream premium series (such as Game of Thrones ) made a specific block for such content redundant. Specialized channels dedicated to pornographic films also exist, that carry either softcore adult programs (such as Playboy TV ), or more hardcore content (such as The Erotic Network and Hustler TV ). Pay television channels come in different price ranges. Many channels carrying advertising combine this income with

4758-640: The Autumn, Flextech held 80% of UK Gold. Flextech 's main reason for increasing its stake in UK Gold was in participation of new talks with the BBC. The channel's success led to the launch of the UKTV network on 1 November 1997, owned by BBC Worldwide and Flextech , and consisting of three other channels: UK Arena , UK Horizons and UK Style , focusing on the arts, factual and lifestyle programmes respectively. The UKTV network would expand to include numerous more channels as

4880-463: The BBC in 1994 but still produced by Granada. The company produced The Krypton Factor between 1977 and 1995 (revived by ITV in 2009). One of Granada's longest-running programmes, What The Papers Say , was broadcast by Granada in 1956, was taken over by the BBC in the early 1990s, and later by Channel 4 . The programme introduced the idea of discussing what the newspapers were reporting, continued by Sunday Supplement and The Wright Stuff . In

5002-524: The BBC programmes previously were held by the BSB entertainment channel Galaxy , prior to the merger with Sky Television to form BSkyB in November 1990. The channel was initially broadcast on an analogue transponder from an SES satellite at 19.2°E which was less well suited for UK reception. As a result, the channel used to be notorious for being marred with interference, known as ' sparklies ', in large parts of

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5124-619: The Crown , Brideshead Revisited , World in Action , University Challenge , Stars in Their Eyes 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 , Brian Cosgrove , Mark Hall , Brian Trueman , Michael Parkinson , Derek Granger , Gordon McDougall and Dan Walker . Granada originated as Granada Theatres Ltd, which owned cinemas in

5246-467: The DirecTV package despite Showtime Networks no longer owning Sundance, that channel is now owned by AMC Networks ) along with Showtime in its "Showtime Unlimited" package; Cinemax and its multiplex networks, in turn, are almost always packaged with HBO (both owned by Warner Bros. Discovery ). Though selling premium services that are related by ownership as a package is common, that may not always be

5368-556: The Emley Moor transmitter. The weekend programme service was provided by ABC Television covering both the North and Midlands regions. Following the 1968 franchise awards, Granada Television provided the programme service from Winter Hill for all seven days of the week but lost the seven-day service from Emley Moor to Yorkshire Television . With the national launch of the UHF 625 line colour television service for both BBC1 and ITV on 15 November 1969,

5490-542: The ITA commenced broadcasts of Granada Television on UHF channel 59 from Winter Hill, with high power relays subsequently put into service at Pendle Forest (channel 25 on 2 August 1971, the first UHF relay service to be operated by the ITA), Lancaster (channel 24 on 26 June 1972), Storeton (channel 25 in September 1979), and Saddleworth (channel 49 on 28 June 1984). Most ITV franchisees viewed their territories as stopgaps before winning

5612-757: The ITV merger in 2004, the possibility of selling the Quay Street site was considered, with staff, studios and offices moved into the adjacent bonded warehouse building. ITV anticipated the BBC would buy the land but the BBC opted to move to the Peel Group 's MediaCityUK development in Salford Quays . ITV considered relocating to Trafford Wharf across the Manchester Ship Canal from the BBC at MediaCityUK. Discussions continued for several years and an agreement in principle

5734-412: 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". 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

5856-530: The Royal Family's tax loophole in 1991. The programme led a campaign to prove the innocence of the Birmingham Six in 1985 when researcher Chris Mullin questioned the convictions; by 1991 the men had been released from prison. The classic northern working-class soap opera, Coronation Street , began a thirteen-week, twice weekly regional run of half-hour episodes on 9 December 1960. It is still produced at

5978-650: The TV series Most Haunted seem to be the only sources for this claim in 2009. Twelve maps from between 1772 and 1960 show no evidence of a cemetery and buildings are shown on the bull china site from 1807. Part of the Manchester and Salford Junction Canal , which linked the River Irwell to the Rochdale Canal from 1839 to 1922, ran in a tunnel underneath the site. The studios pre-dated BBC Television Centre by four years and were

6100-629: The UK. Another initial drawback was the cutting of programming down to fit commercial time slots, and the intensive use of commercial breaks. Reception improved however with the channel added to BSkyB 's basic subscription package in 1993, and the launch of the channel on cable services. In 1993, Flextech gained its first stake in the station after acquiring Tele-Communications Inc .'s TV interests in Europe. In 1996, it started discussions about increasing its stake, to gain full control. At that point, Flextech held 27% with Cox (38%), BBC (20%) and Pearson (15%). By

6222-582: The United Nations. Granada Television was received in what is now Greater Manchester , Lancashire, Merseyside and Cheshire , the south of what is now Cumbria (then Lancashire, and smaller parts of Westmorland and Yorkshire) around Barrow-in-Furness , the High Peak district of Derbyshire ( Glossop , Buxton ), the Staffordshire Moorlands district of Staffordshire ( Biddulph and Leek ) and

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6344-615: The activity behind it is still going. The 2014 idents were kept in the rebranding to U&Gold, with the logo being changed to follow the other channels. This is a list of British comedy series that are shown throughout the year on the British channel U&GOLD. Although the shows may vary on the scheldues, some of these series can also be found on Gold On Demand. Programming of classic general entertainment and movies now unused or superseded on 7 October 2008. Some programmes that were shown on UKTV G2 moved to other channels sometime later when it

6466-733: The aforementioned leniency in content standards, they too can contain content that is more mature than those of other cable channels or television networks . These series also tend to be high-budget and aim for critical success in order to attract subscribers: notable premium series, such as HBO 's Curb Your Enthusiasm , Game of Thrones , Sex and the City , and The Sopranos , and Showtime 's Dexter , Homeland , and Weeds , have achieved critical acclaim and have won various television awards. Some premium channels also broadcast television specials , which most commonly consist of concerts and concert films , documentaries , stand-up comedy , and in

6588-483: The air, was launched in April 1999. The fireworks theme was carried on in a new set of idents, alongside another network-wide rebranding of the logo in 2001, adopting a bolder font and merging UK into a single composite character. A range of live-action idents showing everyday activities from unusual perspectives appeared in 2002. The 2003 to 2007 idents showed channel hopping viewers with their TV set "off stage" being brought to

6710-504: The brand of the unified in-house production arm but on 21 September 2005, it was announced that Granada's name would no longer appear at the end of programmes. The in-house production arm was renamed ITV Productions . The change on 16 January 2006 coincided with a relaunch of ITV's on-screen graphics . Granada's name and logo were still used at the end of programmes made for other networks, such as University Challenge for BBC Two , and old programmes shown on BSkyB channels Sky One , and

6832-419: The broadcast decrypted for viewing, but usually only entail a one-time payment for a single or time-limited viewing. Programs offered via pay-per-view are most often movies or sporting events, but may also include other events, such as concerts and even softcore adult programs. In the U.S., the initial concept and technology for pay-per-view for broadcast television was first developed in the early 1950s, including

6954-487: The channel closed under the "Classics" format and on 2 April 1999 was relaunched as UK Gold 2, becoming a secondary timeshift service that broadcast UK Gold's daytime schedule in the evening. Initially, the channel broadcast on weekends only, but expanded to a full 7-day-a-week schedule in June. On 30 June 2002, UKTV announced the launch of a one-hour timeshift service of the network, entitled UK Gold +1. The channel launched on Sky

7076-428: The common top and bottom of the hour scheduling of other cable channels and terrestrial broadcasters. As such, programs often air using either conventional scheduling or have airtimes in five-minute increments (for example, 7:05 a.m. or 4:40 p.m.); since such channels broadcast content without in-program break interruptions, this sometimes leads to extended or abbreviated breaks between programs, depending on when

7198-475: The company bought for £82,000. The opening night featured Meet The People hosted by Quentin Reynolds and comedian Arthur Askey . Reynolds became inebriated before the broadcast and had to sober up. Granada Television was broadcast by the ITA on VHF Channel 9 (405 lines, monochrome) from the Winter Hill transmitter starting on 3 May 1956, and from 3 November 1956 on VHF channel 10 (405 lines, monochrome) from

7320-492: The company considered ITV could survive only as a single merged entity to have sufficient resources to produce big-budget programmes, a concern that increased when BSkyB began to take ITV's viewing share, leading to less advertising revenue , the source of ITV's income. David Plowright , who had worked at Granada since 1957, resigned in 1992, citing the arrival of Gerry Robinson , who had tightened departmental budgets with an uncompromising business approach. Plowright had been

7442-627: The company's driving force, producing programmes such as World in Action and Coronation Street , and promoting the Granada Studios Tour . His departure angered well-known media-industry figures; John Cleese sent Robinson a fax using "vitriolic language" that called him an "upstart caterer" (a reference to his past employment). John Birt , Harold Pinter and Alan Bennett all supported Plowright for his quality programming. The so-called " Big Five " ITV franchisees, Thames , LWT , Central , Granada, and Yorkshire were expected to take over

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7564-429: 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

7686-492: The early days, the pointed G logo was used on two other subsidiary businesses. Firstly came the Red Arrow Television Rental chain. During the days when many families preferred to rent their TV sets to offset poor reliability and changing fashions, and due to the high price of television receivers, this company fared well alongside the established "heavy hitters" such as Radio Rentals . The company's opening promotion

7808-711: The end of its own programmes until 31 October 2004. Granada was permitted by the government to merge with Carlton on 2 February 2004 to form ITV plc . The move was a takeover by Granada, whose market capitalisation was double that of Carlton, at nearly £2 billion. Granada owned 68% of the shares and Carlton 32%; chairman designate Michael Green was ousted by shareholders and the majority of new board members originated from Granada. Carlton employees were subsumed in Granada operations or made redundant, with three out of four new departments led by Granada staff. From 1 November 2004, Granada productions were credited "Granada Manchester",

7930-514: The first few years, idents on UK Gold featured an animated golden retriever mascot named "Goldie" posing with the UK Gold logo. Goldie was never name-checked as such on air, possibly owing to the death of the Blue Peter dog Goldie some weeks before launch, although the late-night music video slot Dog House was originally listed as Goldie's Video Bites in initial pre-launch listings. The Goldie idents were kept until 1993, when they were replaced with

8052-471: The first half of 1969, the famous pointed "G" logo, incorporating the upward/Northward facing arrow used previously into a letter "G" was introduced. This was to be the corporate logo for the Granada Group as a whole (also seen as the logo for Granada's TV rentals firm), so it was introduced to their ITV franchise as a matter of course rather than the ITV franchise choosing to adopt the new branding. This logo

8174-481: The first purpose-built television studios in the United Kingdom. Bernstein exaggerated the scale of the studios, to make Granada appear a rival to the BBC, and gave the studios only even numbers so that it appeared there were twelve despite there only being six. The studios were operated by 3sixtymedia , ITV Studios' joint-venture company with BBC Resources Ltd from 2000. The studios later hosted shows displaced by

8296-469: The following month on 1 August. It initially only broadcast during the evening from 7:00pm–7:00am, much like UK Gold 2 but on 12 November 2003, the channel gained a full 24-hour slot. On 29 October 2003, UKTV announced that UK Gold 2 would be relaunched as UK G on 12 November, being reinvented as a younger-oriented edgier youth network aimed towards a 16-34-year-old demographic. The channel rebranded as such on that day, and alongside that UK Gold +1 expanded to

8418-644: The form of a conventional VOD television service, and in some cases, a companion on-demand streaming service as well). Most pay television providers also offer a selection of premium services (for example, the HBO, Showtime and Starz packages) in one bundle at a greatly reduced price than it would cost to purchase each service separately, as an inducement for subscribers to remain with their service provider or for others to induce subscribers into using their service. Similarly, many television providers offer general interest or movie-based premium channels at no additional charge for

8540-401: The former Sky Two (now Sky Replay) and Sky Three (now Sky Mix), until 2009. On 13 November 2006, Granada lost its on-air identity when regional programming voiced ITV1 or ITV1 Granada over a generic ident. Local news coverage was branded Granada News except for the main 18.00 Granada Reports bulletin. Granada Reports ' main rival is BBC North West Tonight , broadcast to roughly

8662-467: The global market, and the ITV franchises began to consolidate with the aim of creating a single company with a larger budget. The Broadcasting Act of 1990 instigated the 1991 franchise auction round, in which companies had to bid for the regions. Mersey Television , a company producing the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside , bid £35m compared to Granada's £9m but Granada won as Mersey's package did not meet

8784-426: The idents focussed on the slogan of ‘Stick Something Funny On’. In May 2012, the dots were removed from the logo, now falling inline with how the channel is called. In July 2014, Gold rebranded after two years in its second identity. The logo is a ribbon with the letters "GOLD". The new idents have funny and wacky stuff happening (such as dancing legs). At the end of the idents, the ribbon comes out saying "GOLD", while

8906-426: The increase in income, Granada tried to renegotiate the contract; Associated-Rediffusion refused, souring relations for many years. The deal was worth over £8m to Rediffusion. By the early 1960s Granada was established and its soap opera Coronation Street quickly became popular, as did inexpensive game shows such as Criss Cross Quiz and University Challenge . In the 1968 franchise round, Granada's contract

9028-506: The latter half of 2012. UKTV executive Jane Rogers stated to Broadcast that the commissions would be high-quality, as "they would need to sit confidently alongside classics such as Only Fools And Horses and The Vicar of Dibley ". She also added: "Gold is well entrenched in the UK's psyche as the home of national treasure comedies, so we cannot afford to look cheap next to those programmes. It's important that anything we order continues that love and feel, but we don't want to look back; we want

9150-454: The launch of a network's prestige series. However, some other channels, such as sports and adult networks may ask for monthly pricing that may go as high as near $ 50 a month. There are also premium television services which are priced significantly higher than the mini-pay channels, but they compensate for their higher price by carrying little or no advertising and also providing a higher quality program output. As advertising sales are sensitive to

9272-566: The lowest profits of the quartet. Granada sought the help of Associated-Rediffusion , the London weekday station, which agreed to underwrite Granada's debts in exchange for a percentage of its profits, without the consent of the ITA, who would have blocked it. Granada accepted the deal, but the popularity of ITV increased and profitability followed. Analysts questioned how Associated-Rediffusion, ABC and ATV were making annual profits of up to £2.7m by 1959 and yet Granada's profits were under £1m. With

9394-467: The majority of pay television services rely almost solely on monthly subscription fees paid by individual customers. As a result, pay television outlets are most concerned with offering content that can justify the cost of the service, which helps to attract new subscribers, and retain existing subscribers. Many pay television services consist of multiple individual channels, referred to as " multiplex " services (in reference to multiplex cinemas ), where

9516-411: The multi-award-winning Disappearing World series (between 1969 and 1993) and, from 1984, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and The Jewel in the Crown for an international audience. These shows were sold overseas by Granada Television International . Another flagship programme, the long-running quiz show , University Challenge was originally aired between 1962 and 1987. It was revived by

9638-407: The next programme. The Gold logo features in the centre, with the channel slogan usually appearing alongside in the sequence. Programmes are announced by sole channel continuity announcer David Flynn, who has had the position since June 2009. In 2010, the logo was changed slightly, with an updated ident package. These followed a similar style to the previous set, but instead of the previous backronym,

9760-463: 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

9882-407: The north is an ideal place for television". Bernstein selected a base from Leeds and Manchester. Granada executive Victor Peers believed Manchester was the preferred choice even before executives toured the region to find a suitable site. Granada Studios , designed by architect Ralph Tubbs , was built on a site on Quay Street in Manchester city centre belonging to Manchester City Council , which

10004-500: The northern hub, and an £80m move to MediaCityUK on 25 March 2013, ITV appears to be committed to the Granada region for the foreseeable future. In the eighteen months between the award of the franchise and the start of transmission, Granada built a brand new studio complex on Quay Street . The site was reportedly previously a cemetery for pauper's graves , where 22,000 people were buried. An article in The Sun newspaper and an episode of

10126-494: The original term of license agreements with a distributor may also be broadcast as "sub-runs", in which a service holds rights to film long after the conclusion of a distribution agreement (under this arrangement, the pay service that originally licensed the rights to a particular film title, or one other than that which had held rights, may hold the broadcast rights through a library content deal). Many general interest premium channels also produce original television series . Due to

10248-422: The other ITV companies and by the BBC at its original Manchester studios . The investment in new studios in 1954 contributed to Granada struggling financially, and the company was close to insolvency by late 1956. All four ITA franchisees were expected to make losses in the first few years of operation, but Granada's was a significant sum of £175,000 (nearly £3.5m in 2011). When it first became profitable, it had

10370-560: 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. 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

10492-587: The past, theatrical plays . Sports programming is also featured on some premium services; HBO was historically known for its broadcasts of boxing , while Showtime and Epix also carry mixed martial arts events. Some general interest premium channels have aired other professional sporting events in the past: HBO for example, carried games from the National Hockey League (NHL), National Basketball Association (NBA) and American Basketball Association (ABA) in its early years, and from 1975 to 1999 aired

10614-547: The platform in March 2016. Gold and Home were not available to watch on Freeview boxes and televisions due to them being encrypted as subscription channels on Top Up TV. An HD version of Gold was launched on 2 October 2017 exclusively to Sky , replacing Eden HD on the platform. Gold HD was added to Virgin Media on 25 September 2018, replacing Gold in standard definition. It was added to BT TV on 11 March 2019, along with Vice HD . For

10736-514: The pointed G logo, made slightly thinner and placed in a box at the top of the screen. The dual branding of Granada Television and ITV lasted until 28 October 2002, when regional identities were dropped in favour of the new ITV1 channel brand. The celebrities ident package featured plain ITV1 idents for all national programmes, and Granada Television placed under the ITV1 logo for regional programmes. This practice continued until 16 January 2006, when no name

10858-521: The previous program concludes and when the start time of the next program is. The only universal variation to this is prime time , where the main channel in each pay service's suite usually schedules films to start on the hour. Films comprise much of the content seen on most pay television services, particularly those with a general entertainment format and those that focus exclusively on films . Services often obtain rights to films through exclusive agreements with film distributors . Films acquired during

10980-555: The proposed closure of the Yorkshire Television studios in Leeds in 2009, including Channel 4's Countdown. In September 2010, the noted 1950s red landmark "Granada TV" sign on the roof and entrance of Granada Studios on Quay Street was removed for safety reasons after maintenance found it was badly corroded. The Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) now owns the sign, deeming it important to Manchester's cultural heritage. After

11102-531: The rate of three one-hour peak-time episodes a week after over sixty years, and is the longest-running television soap opera in the world. Such set-pieces as Siege Week and the 2010 Tram Crash were filmed at the studio. The company also produced gritty drama series such as A Family at War (1970–72), set during the Second World War. Granada produced The Stars Look Down (1975), Laurence Olivier Presents (1976–78), Brideshead Revisited (1981),

11224-457: The rebranding of UKTV Drama as Alibi , and the launch of a new channel, Watch . In Spring 2010, the channel dropped the acronym and is now known simply as "Gold", with its timeshift known as "Gold +1". In October 2011, Virgin Media , owner of half of Gold and the rest of the UKTV network, sold their share to Scripps Networks Interactive , with the remaining half still retained by the BBC's commercial arm, BBC Worldwide . In February 2012, it

11346-513: The rebranding of UKTV G2 as Dave in October 2007. On 7 October 2008, UKTV Gold became "G.O.L.D." (with its timeshift becoming G.O.L.D. +1), exclusively showing comedy, both old and new. This is reflected by its new slogan, which now represents Gold as a backronym —"Go On Laugh Daily". Unlike the complete name change for Dave, the Gold name was retained as having a resonance with viewers. The same day also saw

11468-616: The remaining divisions passing to rival company Carlton due to competition laws. A year later, it acquired Border from Capital Radio Group. By 2002, Granada had established an effective duopoly of ITV with Carlton Television , owning all the ITV companies in England and Wales. The remaining franchises in Scotland, ( Scottish and Grampian ), UTV in Northern Ireland, and Channel in the Channel Islands , remained independent. Granada

11590-533: The same region. In 2009, ITV removed the Granada brand from all departments including its international production arm, Granada America which became ITV Studios America. End credits on programmes made at The Manchester Studios were credited to ITV Studios . ITV made cutbacks, dropping 600 jobs in 2009, which effectively closed the Yorkshire Television Leeds Studios; more redundancies were made in London, leaving Granada relatively unscathed. In

11712-529: The service for a period of days or weeks; these are typically scheduled to showcase major special event programming, such as the pay cable premiere of a blockbuster feature film, the premiere (either a series or season premiere ) of a widely anticipated or critically acclaimed original series or occasionally, a high-profile special (such as a concert). Subscription services transmitted via analogue terrestrial television have also existed, to varying degrees of success. The most known example of such service in Europe

11834-430: The ship canal on Trafford Wharf. Planning permission was granted, and building work began on 6 September 2011 with the goal of completion in 2012. ITV Granada moved to MediaCityUK on 25 March 2013. Throughout its history, Granada Television used the logo of an arrow pointing northwards in idents, often accompanied by the tagline "from the North". Sidney Bernstein wanted to present a northern identity. Granada Television

11956-465: The situation: for example, in the United States, Cinemax and Encore are optionally sold separately from or in a single package with their respective parent networks HBO and Starz, depending on the service provider. The Movie Channel and Flix meanwhile, are usually sold together with Showtime (all three channels are owned by Paramount Global ); though subscribers are required to purchase Showtime in order to receive Flix, The Movie Channel does not have such

12078-639: The south of England. It was founded in Dover in 1930 by Sidney Bernstein and his brother Cecil; it was named after the Spanish city of Granada , which Sidney had visited on a holiday. The company was incorporated as Granada Ltd in 1934 and listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1935; Granada Theatres Ltd became a subsidiary of the new company. In the 1950s, the Bernsteins became involved in commercial television,

12200-508: The station's re-run content. Twelve new live action idents featured the branded space hopper, either with people on them bouncing around normally serious scenes, or let loose to bounce around the natural environment, aired from 5 April 2007 to 7 October 2008. On 7 October 2008, following the rebranding, Gold's 2008 presentation debuted, featuring cartoon objects making a giant chain, in Heath Robinson fashion, which triggers an event to herald

12322-685: The ten smaller franchises. Granada wanted to consolidate with Yorkshire and Tyne Tees to "counter the potential dominance of the south east", and the prospect of being taken over by Thames. Granada made a hostile bid for LWT in December 1993, but LWT believed Granada had "little to offer" despite having three times the market capitalisation; Granada, however, completed the take-over in 1994. Granada continued to expand by acquiring Yorkshire-Tyne Tees Television for £652m in 1997 and bought UNM 's television assets for £1.75 billion in 2000 – by which it acquired Anglia and Meridian and some divisions of HTV –

12444-421: The top of the screen, containing the pointed "G", against a plain white background accompanied by the same music as previously. Variations were seen from which the stripe formed from a falling feather or was backlit. On 2 May 1992, the stripe descended to reveal a rainbow of colours before becoming the usual blue and this ident stays on screen until 1 January 1995. On 3 January 1994, Granada Television introduced

12566-415: The word "GRANADA" between two horizontal lines was introduced, the channel used captions and animations featuring a thin arrow pointing upwards and Granada, in a stylised font, in boxes. The arrow pointed at the "n" in Granada, pointing north and sometimes animated revealing the slogan "From the North", before the Granada name. After the use of the word "GRANADA" between two horizontal lines was phased out in

12688-459: The years progressed. To coincide with the launch of Sky Digital , a sister network entitled UK Gold Classics was launched on 2 October 1998, becoming UKTV's first digital-exclusive network. The channel focused on older programs that aired on the main UK Gold within its launch, as the main channel was at the time focusing on more newer programmes. The channel only broadcast during the weekend, airing from 6:00pm–2:00am; Friday-Sunday. On 28 March 1999,

12810-400: Was a computer-animated pointed "G" against a graded background and a cake covered in candles in the pointed G shape. On 1 September 1986, Granada Television reverted to using a caption featuring a gold or chrome 3D pointed "G" on a graded blue background. Granada Television used in-vision continuity featuring northern personalities giving messages. It was common for the logo to be seen for

12932-476: Was a social experiment which followed the lives of 14 British children aged seven. It tracked their lives at seven-year intervals to discover whether their hopes and aspirations had been achieved. The documentary was voted the greatest ever by esteemed filmmakers and its latest installment, 63 Up , premiered in 2019. Seven Up was part of the World in Action documentary series between 1963 and 1998, which won awards but

13054-554: Was already suffering from competition with the internet. The failure of ITV Digital cost Granada and Carlton losses estimated at over £1 billion reducing the company's value from 2001 to 2003. On 28 October 2002, in a network-wide relaunch , Granada was rebranded as ITV1 Granada. The Granada name was shown before regional programmes, but this has ceased; its name has all but disappeared from screens, as have all other ITV regional identities. Since rebranding, all continuity announcements are made from London. The Granada logo appeared at

13176-688: Was announced that UKTV was to invest millions into producing its own original shows. According to the trade magazine, Broadcast, Gold "has secured a budget running into "double-digit millions" to create a raft of new comedy shows over the next two years". The article went on to say "the channel is looking to develop a mix of panel shows, sketch shows, sitcoms and comedy dramas". This move meant that Gold would follow its sister, Dave , which has resurrected Red Dwarf and produced numerous different panel and entertainment series, and BSkyB , who have invested £600m into original comedy for Sky One and Sky Atlantic . The first set of new series for Gold were broadcast in

13298-512: Was apparent. Kenneth Clark , of the ITA , which let the franchise, remarked: "We did not quite foresee how much Granada Television would develop a character which distinguishes it most markedly from the other programmes companies and from the BBC." Peter Salmon , of the BBC said: "Granada Television made TV programmes in the north west; for northerners, reflecting northern culture and attitudes." From its launch in 1956 until 1968, when an ident featuring

13420-448: Was changed from weekdays across the northern England region to the whole week in the North West from Winter Hill transmitting station. Yorkshire was defined as a separate region and the contract awarded to Yorkshire Television , broadcasting from Emley Moor transmitting station; its transmissions could be received in parts of North Lincolnshire . Bernstein was angered by the decision to split "Granadaland", and claimed he would appeal to

13542-498: Was considered "bolder", " gritty " and more " Socialist " in its identity than the other more "sedate" and " Conservative " ITV franchisees and the BBC, and placed great emphasis displaying the northern style which distinguished it from them. Bernstein believed the north had "untapped creative energy" that needed cultivation. Granada was one of the few regions that did not play the national anthem at closedown . In 1958, two years after its launch, Granada Television's northern style

13664-483: Was controversial. It garnered a reputation for hard-hitting investigative journalism and its producer Gus Macdonald commented that the programme was "born brash". Paul Greengrass said that David Plowright told him, "don't forget, your job's to make trouble." World in Action demonstrated hard-hitting investigative journalism and explored issues such as police corruption at the Metropolitan Police in 1985 and

13786-517: 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, and North Yorkshire. In 2009, the Isle of Man was transferred to Granada from ITV Border . Broadcasting by Granada Television began on 3 May 1956 under

13908-531: Was in a poor financial state and closed the Granada Studios Tour in 2001, citing decreasing visitor figures. The real reason was the decision to increase production of episodes for Coronation Street to five per week. Without access to that set, the highlight of the tour, the Granada Studios Tour venture was no longer viable. The company also closed Granada Film. The emergence of digital television cut ITV's viewing share, decreasing advertising revenue, which

14030-520: Was originally white on a grey background (although occasionally seen as black on a white background) but after the introduction of colour, grey was replaced with blue (after a short period of using white symbol/yellow lettering/purple background), with the GRANADA name in white and the G symbol in yellow. A colour emblem was used from the 1970s until it was replaced by a series of idents to celebrate Granada Television's 30th anniversary on 3 May 1986, when it

14152-616: Was reached in 2008. In March 2009, in the recession, Granada announced it would remain at Quay Street, but after a change of management, talks resumed in January 2010. Two years later, on 16 December 2010, Granada announced it would move to the Orange Building in MediaCityUK alongside the University of Salford . It planned to build a studio to produce Coronation Street on the opposite bank of

14274-447: Was renamed Dave in October 2007. However, most of the classic comedy series includes re-runs of some BBC shows which are used only on this channel. Some of its classic general entertainment shows moved to other current UKTV channels such as U&Dave , U&W , and U&Alibi .   An analogue teletext service known as GoldText used to be available on the channel, but has since closed down. Pay television The term

14396-447: Was the second classic BBC sitcom to be resurrected by a UKTV network, following the two Dave-commissioned series of Red Dwarf . News about other new commissions for the channel were announced during the summer. The channel was removed from Digital Terrestrial in 2013, along with Home as part of the closure of Top Up TV and was replaced with Drama in July 2013. However, Home relaunched on

14518-448: Was to give every new customer a small, Hiawatha-style figurine to stand on top of their new TV set. Upon its success, the name was later changed to Granada TV Rental. Based on the results of this company, Granada Television dipped its toes into the office furniture rental business, and carpet sales and fitting for larger business customers, with Black Arrow. This business was less successful. In 1958, Granada Television broadcast coverage of

14640-437: Was to show repeats of the 'classic' archive programming from the two broadcasters. The channel launched on 1 November 1992 at 7pm with Just Good Friends . The first commercial shown on the channel was for Lucozade , and all commercials shown in the first three breaks on the channel's launch night either had the word gold or golden in either the name of the brand advertised or mentioned in the commercial itself. The rights to

14762-435: Was used, and Granada Productions was replaced with ITV Productions on programme end boards. The Granada Television logo continued on end boards until this date. The Granada name was used on announcements before local programming over a generic ITV1 ident until all non-news regional programming was scrapped. On 14 January 2013, ITV1 reverted to its original name of ITV , along with all other ITV plc-owned franchises. During

14884-447: Was used, from a variety of angles, until 7 November 1999, by which point additional idents based on surreal surroundings, such as a fish blowing a bubble with a G inside, which floated to the surface, or a camera zoom into the eye of a housewife to reveal the G in her eye, were introduced on 2 September 1996. All of the idents were replaced on 8 November 1999 when Granada Television took the generic hearts idents . Granada Television kept

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