Editing ITV Granada (section)

===Takeover bids===
The so-called "[[History of ITV#The Big Four and Big Five|Big Five]]" ITV franchisees, [[Thames Television|Thames]], [[London Weekend Television|LWT]], [[ITV Central|Central]], Granada, and Yorkshire were expected to take over the ten smaller franchises. Granada wanted to consolidate with Yorkshire and [[ITV Tyne Tees|Tyne Tees]] to "counter the potential dominance of the south east",<ref name="Fitzwalter">{{harvnb|Fitzwalter|2008|p=130}}</ref> 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;<ref name="lwtforeign">{{Cite news |title=LWT may seek foreign buyer to stop Granada: French group is a possible white knight |last=Counsell |first=Gail |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/lwt-may-seek-foreign-buyer-to-stop-granada-french-group-is-a-possible-white-knight--poison-pill-acquisition-is-ruled-out-1465976.html |newspaper=The Independent |location =London |date=7 December 1993 |access-date=27 June 2011}}</ref> Granada, however, completed the take-over in 1994.<ref>{{cite news |title=Granada wins bitter battle to own LWT: Chairman regrets loss of independence |last=Counsell |first=Gail |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/granada-wins-bitter-battle-to-own-lwt-chairman-regrets-loss-of-independence-1396543.html |newspaper=The Independent |location =London |date=26 February 1994 |access-date=27 June 2011}}</ref> Granada continued to expand by acquiring [[Yorkshire-Tyne Tees Television]] for £652m in 1997<ref>{{cite news |title=Granada set to buy Yorkshire for pounds 652m |last=Newman |first=Cathy |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/granada-set-to-buy-yorkshire-for-pounds-652m-1255215.html |newspaper=The Independent |date=10 June 1997 |access-date=17 October 2011}}</ref> and bought [[UBM plc|UNM]]'s television assets for £1.75 billion in 2000 – by which it acquired [[ITV Anglia|Anglia]] and [[ITV Meridian|Meridian]] and some divisions of [[ITV Wales & West|HTV]]<ref>{{cite news |title=Hollick's TV empire is sold in a 'friendly' deal |last=McIntosh |first=Bill |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/hollicks-tv-empire-is-sold-in-a-friendly-deal-707384.html |newspaper=The Independent |date=29 July 2000 |access-date=17 October 2011}}</ref> – the remaining divisions passing to rival company [[Carlton Television|Carlton]] due to competition laws.<ref name="BBCnews itv shake up">{{cite news|title=ITV shake-up continues|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/988003.stm|access-date=27 October 2011|publisher=BBC News|date=24 October 2000}}</ref> 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 Television|Scottish]] and [[Grampian Television|Grampian]]), [[UTV (TV channel)|UTV]] in Northern Ireland, and [[Channel Television|Channel]] in the [[Channel Islands]], remained independent.

Granada was in a poor financial state and closed the Granada Studios Tour in 2001, citing decreasing visitor figures.<ref>{{cite news |last=Rogers |first=Daniel |title=Granada shuts tourist attraction  |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2001/jan/18/broadcasting7?INTCMP=SRCH |newspaper=The Guardian |date=18 January 2001 |access-date=2 July 2011}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Granada closes film wing |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2002/sep/11/broadcasting?INTCMP=SRCH |newspaper=The Guardian |date=11 September 2002 |access-date=2 July 2011}}</ref> The emergence of digital television cut ITV's viewing share, decreasing advertising revenue, which was already suffering from competition with the internet.<ref>{{Cite news |title=ITV loses 'licence to print money' |last=Douglas |first=Torin |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/1407543.stm |work=BBC |date=25 June 2001 |access-date=3 July 2011}}</ref> The failure of [[ITV Digital]] cost Granada and Carlton losses estimated at over £1 billion<ref name="billion">{{Cite news |title=ITV Digital put into liquidation |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2340335.stm |work=BBC |date=18 October 2002 |access-date=6 July 2011}}</ref> reducing the company's value from 2001 to 2003.<ref>{{Cite news |title=No coronation for Granada |quote=In the case of Granada, the company's value has fallen by a quarter in the space of a month. |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2000/sep/27/business.city?INTCMP=SRCH |date=27 September 2000 |access-date=3 July 2011 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>