Granada and Sky are holding negotiations over the future of their joint venture Granada Sky Broadcasting, according to the Guardian.
Formed in 1996, GSkyB currently operates two digital channels, Granada Plus and Granada Men & Motors. A long-running output deal means that the former station has access to the Granada programming library, enabling it to show classic programmes like Heartbeat, The Darling Buds of May and Prime Suspect, as well as vintage episodes of Coronation Street and Emmerdale.
The deal is proving to be a serious obstacle in the launch of an "ITV Gold" station, however, which is being planned for next year. The proposed channel will draw on ITV's extensive archive of original programming through the years, of which Granada's is key.
"ITV now has a multichannel presence with ITV2 and it is absolutely starting to make it work," an insider told the newspaper. "But it would be an anomaly to have an ITV Gold channel that doesn't have access to the Granada library and another [Granada Plus] that doesn't have the ITV brand. There are lots of things you can do when you've got the ITV brand on a channel, including cross-promotion and exclusively licensing programming."
One possible outcome of the talks would be for Sky to have a stake in the new channel, which would replace Granada Plus on satellite and cable.
Formed in 1996, GSkyB currently operates two digital channels, Granada Plus and Granada Men & Motors. A long-running output deal means that the former station has access to the Granada programming library, enabling it to show classic programmes like Heartbeat, The Darling Buds of May and Prime Suspect, as well as vintage episodes of Coronation Street and Emmerdale.
The deal is proving to be a serious obstacle in the launch of an "ITV Gold" station, however, which is being planned for next year. The proposed channel will draw on ITV's extensive archive of original programming through the years, of which Granada's is key.
"ITV now has a multichannel presence with ITV2 and it is absolutely starting to make it work," an insider told the newspaper. "But it would be an anomaly to have an ITV Gold channel that doesn't have access to the Granada library and another [Granada Plus] that doesn't have the ITV brand. There are lots of things you can do when you've got the ITV brand on a channel, including cross-promotion and exclusively licensing programming."
One possible outcome of the talks would be for Sky to have a stake in the new channel, which would replace Granada Plus on satellite and cable.
