ITV Digital Channels Limited (formerly known as Granada Sky Broadcasting) is a
wholly owned subsidiary
A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a sam ...
of British broadcaster
ITV plc
ITV plc is a British media company that holds 13 of the 15 regional television licences that make up the ITV network (Channel 3), the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom.
ITV plc is listed on th ...
. It manages all of the company's television channels with the exception of
ITV, which is part of the
entire network.
It was set up in 1996 and operated until 2004 as a joint venture between
Granada plc
Granada plc (previously called Granada Ltd, Granada Group plc, and Granada Media plc) was a British conglomerate best known as the parent from 1954 to 2004 of the Manchester-based Granada Television.
The company merged with Carlton Communicati ...
and
British Sky Broadcasting
Sky UK Limited is a British broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television and broadband Internet services, fixed line and mobile telephone services to consumers and businesses in the United Kingdom. It is a subsidiary of ...
to launch a range of television channels broadcasting the
Granada
Granada (,, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the c ...
and
LWT
London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 un ...
archives on the Sky
satellite
A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioiso ...
platform, as well as other digital platforms such as
ITV Digital
ITV Digital was a British digital terrestrial television broadcaster which launched a pay-TV service on the world's first digital terrestrial television network. Its main shareholders were Carlton Communications plc and Granada plc, owners o ...
(closed on 1 May 2002),
NTL and
Telewest
Telewest (previously Telewest Broadband and Telewest Communications) was a cable internet, broadband internet, telephone supplier and cable television provider in the United Kingdom. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange, and was also on ...
(both later merged to form
Virgin Media
Virgin Media is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, television and internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, England. It is owned by Virgin Media O2, a 50:50 joint ven ...
).
On 2 February 2004, Granada plc merged with
Carlton Communications
Carlton was a British media company. It was led by Michael P. Green and listed on the London Stock Exchange from 1983 until 2 February 2004, when it was bought by Granada plc in a corporate takeover to form ITV plc. Carlton shareholders gaine ...
to form
ITV plc
ITV plc is a British media company that holds 13 of the 15 regional television licences that make up the ITV network (Channel 3), the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom.
ITV plc is listed on th ...
, which fully purchased ITV Digital Channels in November of that year.
History
1996–2002: Launch, digital expansion and rebrands

In 1996,
Granada plc
Granada plc (previously called Granada Ltd, Granada Group plc, and Granada Media plc) was a British conglomerate best known as the parent from 1954 to 2004 of the Manchester-based Granada Television.
The company merged with Carlton Communicati ...
and
BSkyB
Sky UK Limited is a British broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television and broadband Internet services, fixed line and mobile telephone services to consumers and businesses in the United Kingdom. It is a subsidiary of ...
agreed to create a joint venture to operate four services using the
Granada
Granada (,, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the c ...
and
LWT
London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 un ...
archives on Sky and other cable platforms. The services were:
*
Granada Plus
Plus was a digital channel run by Granada Sky Broadcasting. It was launched on 1 October 1996 under the original name of Granada Plus, and during its availability it underwent successive rebrands as G Plus, G+ and then simply Plus. However, it ...
, an archive channel
*
Granada Men & Motors
Men & Motors was a men's lifestyle television channel in the UK. It was the last remaining station operated by the former ITV Digital Channels Ltd, Granada Sky Broadcasting joint venture, set up by Granada Television (now part of ITV plc) and sa ...
, a channel aimed at men, focused on motoring and erotic content
*
Granada Good Life
Granada Breeze was a lifestyle channel operated by Granada Sky Broadcasting, a joint venture between Granada Television and British Sky Broadcasting. The channel was launched as Granada Good Life on 1 October 1996.
Programming
It was aimed at ...
, a women's lifestyle channel (renamed to Breeze 1 May 1998)
*
Granada Talk TV
Granada Talk (alternatively Granada Talk TV) was a short-lived TV channel owned and operated by Granada Sky Broadcasting, a joint venture between BSkyB and Granada Television. It launched on 1 October 1996 with the other channels of the bouquet ...
, a talk shows channel (closed on 31 August 1997 due to low ratings)
The GSkyB portfolio greatly increased its reach with the launch of
Sky Digital and
ONdigital
ITV Digital was a British digital terrestrial television broadcaster which launched a pay-TV service on the world's first digital terrestrial television network. Its main shareholders were Carlton Communications plc and Granada plc, owners ...
, which Granada and Carlton, another dominant ITV rights holder, were funding, in October and November 1998. Granada Plus and Men & Motors performed well in ratings, but Breeze struggled to attract viewers, leading to budget cuts that resulted in original programming being cut and 60 jobs being lost. In December 2001, the decision was made to close the channel with a gradual closure across digital platforms. It was finally closed on 30 April 2002 to honour contracts with
Telewest
Telewest (previously Telewest Broadband and Telewest Communications) was a cable internet, broadband internet, telephone supplier and cable television provider in the United Kingdom. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange, and was also on ...
and
NTL.
Throughout 2001 and 2002, the channels began to disassociate from Granada branding. Men & Motors received a major rebrand in March 2001, and the Granada brand was dropped from Plus in September 2002.
2003–2004: Uncertain future
In late November 2003, the future of GSkyB was thrown into uncertainty as Granada and
Carlton
Carlton may refer to:
People
* Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname
* Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy
* Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...
– soon to merge as
ITV plc
ITV plc is a British media company that holds 13 of the 15 regional television licences that make up the ITV network (Channel 3), the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom.
ITV plc is listed on th ...
– looked to increase their multichannel presence. ITV Gold was conceived as a new archive channel similar to Plus, but over time this evolved to
ITV3
ITV3 is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. The channel was first launched on Monday 1 November 2004 at 9pm, replacing Plus (Granada). ITV3 is the sixth-largest UK television channel ...
, with Plus' first run rights to archive drama being sought after for the new channel. ITV was also negotiating with Sky over carriage of ITV3, eventually reaching an impasse due to the lack of
EPG
Electronic programming guides (EPGs) and interactive programming guides (IPGs) are menu-based systems that provide users of television, radio and other media applications with continuously updated menus that display scheduling information for ...
space on some Sky Digiboxes. It was later announced with carriage on
Freeview Freeview may refer to:
*Freeview (Australia), the marketing name for the digital terrestrial television platform in Australia
*Freeview (New Zealand), a digital satellite and digital terrestrial television platform in New Zealand
*Freeview (UK), a ...
,
NTL and
Telewest
Telewest (previously Telewest Broadband and Telewest Communications) was a cable internet, broadband internet, telephone supplier and cable television provider in the United Kingdom. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange, and was also on ...
, but with no Sky carriage. Many had expected GSkyB to either be sold or closed entirely, an option ITV considered as it began the sale of non-core assets.
2004–present: ITV plc control and multichannel expansion
On 1 November 2004, ITV plc agreed to purchase BSkyB's stake in GSkyB for £10 million. The deal included the slot that
Granada Plus
Plus was a digital channel run by Granada Sky Broadcasting. It was launched on 1 October 1996 under the original name of Granada Plus, and during its availability it underwent successive rebrands as G Plus, G+ and then simply Plus. However, it ...
was broadcasting on, which ITV used to broadcast its new
ITV3
ITV3 is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. The channel was first launched on Monday 1 November 2004 at 9pm, replacing Plus (Granada). ITV3 is the sixth-largest UK television channel ...
channel which replaced Plus on the same day.
The negotiations that led to ITV plc taking sole control of GSkyB, closing Plus and launching ITV3 on digital satellite were apparently completed just hours before the new channel started broadcasting. On 8 November, Granada Sky Broadcasting was renamed ITV Digital Channels Limited, shortly after the closure of Granada Plus left
Men & Motors
Men & Motors was a men's lifestyle television channel in the UK. It was the last remaining station operated by the former Granada Sky Broadcasting joint venture, set up by Granada Television (now part of ITV plc) and satellite broadcaster Briti ...
as the sole survivor of the original four channels. As part of ITV's buy-out of Sky's shareholding, Sky would have received 49.5% of any proceeds (net of liabilities) from any future sale of Men & Motors.
The newly renamed company was given the brief of running all of ITV's digital services, with the major difference from the former GSkyB operation being that its channels were now
free-to-air
Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscripti ...
and carried the ITV brand.
On 2 May 2005, Men & Motors launched as a free-to-air channel on the
Freeview Freeview may refer to:
*Freeview (Australia), the marketing name for the digital terrestrial television platform in Australia
*Freeview (New Zealand), a digital satellite and digital terrestrial television platform in New Zealand
*Freeview (UK), a ...
digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television (DTTV or DTT, or DTTB with "broadcasting") is a technology for terrestrial television in which land-based (terrestrial) television stations broadcast television content by radio waves to televisions in consume ...
service. It was rumoured that ITV plc would replace it with
ITV4
ITV4 is a British free-to-air television channel which was launched on 1 November 2005. It is owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc, and is part of the ITV network. The channel has a line-up that consists of sports, cult classi ...
, another men's channel, when it launched later that year on 1 November, echoing the launch of ITV3 in 2004. However, after better than expected performance from Men & Motors as a free-to-air channel, both channels continued and ITV plc cut the hours of the
ITV News Channel
The ITV News Channel was a 24-hour television news channel in the United Kingdom which broadcast from 1 August 2000 to 23 December 2005. It was available on Sky, NTL:Telewest, ITV Digital (until 2002), Freeview (latterly only between 6:00 am an ...
to make way for ITV4 and CITV instead. The news channel closed on 23 December of that year with its remaining bandwidth used for CITV.
Although ITV4 started broadcasting from the
Astra
Astra may refer to:
People
* Astra (name)
Places
* Astra, Chubut, a village in Argentina
* Astra (Isauria), a town of ancient Isauria, now in Turkey
* Astra, one suggested name for a hypothetical fifth planet that became the asteroid belt
Ent ...
satellite on 1 November, it was not placed on the Sky
EPG
Electronic programming guides (EPGs) and interactive programming guides (IPGs) are menu-based systems that provide users of television, radio and other media applications with continuously updated menus that display scheduling information for ...
until 7 November. Because of this, some ITV4 sports programming was
simulcast
Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simult ...
on Men & Motors under the ''ITV4 on m&m'' strand. On 23 February 2006, despite the previous decision not to close Men & Motors, fresh rumours over the channel's future began to circulate due to poorer than expected performance from ITV4.
[
] In April 2006, Men & Motors left Freeview to make way for the launch of
ITV Play
ITV Play was a short-lived 24/7 participation television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV plc. The ITV Play name continued as a strand on the main ITV Network until December 2007.
It was launched as a standalone channel on Freevie ...
, and much of its content was moved over to ITV4. ITV intended to dispose of the channel as a non-core asset, but it ultimately closed on
Virgin Media
Virgin Media is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, television and internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, England. It is owned by Virgin Media O2, a 50:50 joint ven ...
on 25 March 2010, and finally closed on Sky and
Freesat
Freesat is a British free-to-air satellite television service, first formed as a joint venture between the BBC and ITV plc and now owned by Digital UK. The service was formed as a memorandum in 2007 and has been marketed since 6 May 2008. F ...
on 1 April, to make way for a permanent EPG position for
ITV HD
ITV1 HD is a British free-to-air high-definition public broadcast television network operated by ITV plc, the company which is contracted to provide 13 ITV1 services across the UK. ITV1 HD simulcasts them in high-definition (excluding former Ch ...
.
In 2014, ITV's portfolio of channels was expanded with the launch of
ITV Encore
ITV Encore was a British drama pay television channel in the United Kingdom that was owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. The channel was exclusive to Sky's digital satellite platform, Sky Go, Now TV, and Sky Store.
The c ...
, a drama channel, and
ITVBe
ITVBe, stylized as itvBe, is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. The channel was first announced on 12 February 2014 and launched on 8 October 2014. ITVBe broadcasts reality and un ...
, a reality and lifestyle channel. The launch of the latter lead to ITV2's repositioning as a youth-focused entertainment channel. In 2018, ITV closed the Encore channel and repositioned its content to the
ITV Hub
ITVX (formerly ITV Hub) is a British online video-on-demand service operated by ITV plc, ITV. The service offers predominantly features content from ITV1, as well as ITV Digital Channels, ITV Digital channels and some licensed content. The serv ...
online service. In 2021, commissions for ITV2, ITVBe and CITV were altered in that they would debut first on the ITV Hub, then on the linear channels, whilst ITV2 was given a wider brief for producing factual content.
Channels
Current
ITV operates the following digital television channels:
*
ITV2
ITV2 is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998. For a number of years, it had the largest audience share after the five analogue terrestrial station ...
(including ITV2 +1 and HD) – General entertainment
*
ITV3
ITV3 is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. The channel was first launched on Monday 1 November 2004 at 9pm, replacing Plus (Granada). ITV3 is the sixth-largest UK television channel ...
(including ITV3 +1 and HD) – Drama and movie
*
ITV4
ITV4 is a British free-to-air television channel which was launched on 1 November 2005. It is owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc, and is part of the ITV network. The channel has a line-up that consists of sports, cult classi ...
(including ITV4 +1 and HD) – Sports and entertainment
*
ITVBe
ITVBe, stylized as itvBe, is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. The channel was first announced on 12 February 2014 and launched on 8 October 2014. ITVBe broadcasts reality and un ...
(including ITVBe +1 and HD) – Reality television and lifestyle
*
CITV
CITV (short for Children's ITV, also known as the CITV Channel) is a British free-to-air children's television channel owned by ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive and acquisitions, every day from 6 am to 9 pm which ...
– For children under 12 years old
Former
*
Plus
Plus may refer to:
Mathematics
* Addition
* +, the mathematical sign
Music
* ''+'' (Ed Sheeran album), (pronounced "plus"), 2011
* ''Plus'' (Cannonball Adderley Quintet album), 1961
* ''Plus'' (Matt Nathanson EP), 2003
* ''Plus'' (Martin Ga ...
– Launched as ''Granada Plus'' on 1 October 1996, showing entertainment programmes from the archives of
Granada
Granada (,, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the c ...
,
LWT
London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 un ...
and its subsidiaries. Closed on 1 November 2004 to allow
ITV3
ITV3 is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. The channel was first launched on Monday 1 November 2004 at 9pm, replacing Plus (Granada). ITV3 is the sixth-largest UK television channel ...
to launch on Sky.
*
Granada Breeze
Granada Breeze was a lifestyle channel operated by Granada Sky Broadcasting, a joint venture between Granada Television and British Sky Broadcasting. The channel was launched as Granada Good Life on 1 October 1996.
Programming
It was aimed at ...
– Launched as ''Granada Good Life'' on 1 October 1996, a lifestyle channel divided into four 3-hour segments: 'Food & Wine', 'Health & Beauty', 'TV High Street' and 'Home & Garden'. Relaunched on 1 May 1998 in order to improve ratings but closed on 30 April 2002.
*
Men & Motors
Men & Motors was a men's lifestyle television channel in the UK. It was the last remaining station operated by the former Granada Sky Broadcasting joint venture, set up by Granada Television (now part of ITV plc) and satellite broadcaster Briti ...
– Launched on 1 October 1996, a channel aimed at men focused on motoring and erotic content. Last of the original Granada Sky Broadcasting channels to close on 1 April 2010.
*
Granada Talk TV
Granada Talk (alternatively Granada Talk TV) was a short-lived TV channel owned and operated by Granada Sky Broadcasting, a joint venture between BSkyB and Granada Television. It launched on 1 October 1996 with the other channels of the bouquet ...
– A debate channel launched on 1 October 1996. Closed on 31 August 1997.
*
ITV Encore
ITV Encore was a British drama pay television channel in the United Kingdom that was owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. The channel was exclusive to Sky's digital satellite platform, Sky Go, Now TV, and Sky Store.
The c ...
(and ITV Encore +1) – A drama channel launched on 9 June 2014. Closed on 1 May 2018.
*
The Store – A shopping channel, which was a joint-venture with
John Mills Limited. Removed from
Freeview Freeview may refer to:
*Freeview (Australia), the marketing name for the digital terrestrial television platform in Australia
*Freeview (New Zealand), a digital satellite and digital terrestrial television platform in New Zealand
*Freeview (UK), a ...
in January 2019.
*
ITV Box Office
ITV Box Office was a pay-per-view channel from ITV plc launched in February 2017, and ceased operations in January 2020. The channel was available in HD-only on Sky, and events were also available on demand only on Virgin Media (UK) and TVPlaye ...
– A pay-per-view sports channel. Closed on 24 January 2020.
*
Merit
Merit may refer to:
Religion
* Merit (Christianity)
* Merit (Buddhism)
* Punya (Hinduism)
* Imputed righteousness in Reformed Christianity
Companies and brands
* Merit (cigarette), a brand of cigarettes made by Altria
* Merit Energy Company, a ...
– A lifestyle channel. Sold to
Sky UK on 20 August 2020.
References
External links
ITV plcEMC Bitstream: ITV3: reaching for the Sky– discusses the negotiations that led to the sale of Sky's stake and closure of Granada Plus
Guide to channels on Astra satellites
{{BSkyB
ITV (TV network)
Mass media companies of the United Kingdom
Satellite television
1996 establishments in the United Kingdom
Mass media companies established in 1996