ITV plc

ITV plc
	ITV logo 2024.png
	Logo used since 2024.
Type	Public limited company
ISIN	🆔
Industry	Media
Founded 📆
Founder 👔
Area served 🗺️
Members
Number of employees
🌐 Website	[Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 665: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). ]
📇 Address
📞 telephone
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ITV plc is a British media company that holds all of the 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 the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

History[edit]

Pre-merger[edit]

ITV plc was the result of a merger between Granada and Carlton following the various mergers between the companies of the ITV network that had taken place from 1993 when the ownership rules were relaxed.

The first wave of mergers began with Yorkshire Television acquiring Tyne Tees Television in 1992, forming a parent group called Yorkshire-Tyne Tees Television Holdings.^[1] In 1994, Carlton Communications – which had owned a 20% stake in Central Independent Television – acquired the remainder of the company^[1] and, because of Central's shareholdings, inherited a 20% stake in Meridian Broadcasting. Later that year, Granada acquired London Weekend Television^[1] through a hostile takeover worth in the region of £750 million. MAI, which controlled Meridian Broadcasting, acquired Anglia Television;^[1] MAI became United News & Media after merging with United Newspapers – owners of The Daily Express in 1996.^[1] Ownership rules, that previously restricted ownership of ITV licences by one company to two outright, plus 20% in a third, were relaxed, and so Carlton went on to acquire Westcountry Television^[1] (later re-branding it Carlton, along with Central), Granada acquired Yorkshire-Tyne Tees Holdings^[1] (with the parent group becoming Granada Media, later simply Granada) and United acquired HTV.^[1] The idiosyncrasies and business model of the future ITV plc operation can be found in the way these new conglomerates operated their franchises. Carlton re-branded all of its stations with its own name, creating a single identity across the whole expanse of its territory. By contrast, Granada and United, while keeping the franchisees' names, centralised their continuity departments – Granada in Leeds and United in Southampton. All three, however, merged the network production operations of their franchises, creating Carlton Productions, Granada Content and United Productions.^[2] By the end of the 1990s, there were three dominating owners of the ITV franchises in England and Wales: Carlton Communications, Granada plc and United News and Media. In 2000, after an aborted merger attempt with Carlton, UNM decided to leave ITV and Granada bought all the UNM franchises (including Anglia and Westward),^[1] but sold HTV to Carlton in order to comply with the permitted audience percentage covered by a single broadcasting interest. Around the same time, Scottish Television was acquired by Carlton, whilst Granada bought Border, Grampian, Ulster, and Channel.