page_title: Granada Studios
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Granada Studios / History
caption_attribution_description: That is the iconic Granada Television building, home to shows like The Jeremy Kyle Show, Cracker, Granada Reports and of course Coronation Street.
context_page_description: Granada Studios were television studios on Quay Street in Manchester with the facility to broadcast live and recorded programmes. They were the headquarters of Granada Television and later ITV Granada between 1956 and 2013. At the time of their closure, the studios were the oldest operating purpose-built television studios in the United Kingdom.
  The studios were home to the world's longest-running serial drama, Coronation Street, and other long-running shows such as the quiz show University Challenge and the current affairs documentary series World in Action. Firsts at the studios include The Beatles' first television performance in 1962 and the first general election debate in 2010.
  Until 2010, the main building, Granada House, had a red neon "Granada TV" sign on the roof, which was a landmark for rail passengers travelling from the west into Manchester city centre. A decorative broadcasting tower was erected at the behest of Sidney Bernstein to give the studios an embellished and professional appearance. At its top, this tower had an enclosed, steerable, microwave dish which, pre-satellite, provided line of sight outside broadcast links to the company's 'Eagle Tower' vehicles.
context_section_description: After Granada secured the contract for broadcasting to the North of England on weekdays, the company built a television studio complex while the BBC Manchester and ABC (originally Granada's weekend counterpart) respectively converted a former church/film studio and cinema in the city for television use. The transition for the other broadcasters was that new areas were required for transmission facilities. Granada bypassed these problems by creating entirely new studios.
  Sidney Bernstein chose its base for northern operations from Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester. Granada executive, Victor Peers, believed Manchester was the preferred choice even before Granada executives, Peers, Denis Forman, Reg Hammans and Sidney Bernstein, toured possible locations. One site was identified by Hammans in Leeds and three were found in Manchester which convinced Bernstein to explore further. Two sites were deemed expensive, and another in Salford Quays was rejected by Bernstein as inadequate. A site on Quay Street in Manchester city centre owned by Manchester City Council was bought for £82,000. Part of the Manchester and Salford Junction Canal, which linked the River Irwell to the Rochdale Canal from 1839 to 1922, ran in tunnel underneath the site.
caption: The Granada Studios main entrance
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