Granada Studios

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. There were three main studios, each covering over 4,500 square feet . The studios were owned by ITV Studios and BBC Resources through a joint venture company, 3SixtyMedia. After a dip in production during the early 2000s, the studios underwent a revival from 2009 until their closure. Countdown moved to Manchester from the Leeds Studios in 2009. Programmes such as John Bishop's Britain, The Chase, Divided, Take Me Out and High Stakes were recorded here and the studios hosted the first ever General Election debate in April 2010. The studios closed in June 2013, and ITV Granada and ITV Studios moved to dock10, MediaCityUK in Salford Quays and Trafford Quays. Granada House is not a listed building but will nonetheless be retained as part of new proposals by Allied London. This will generally consist of exhibition space and a new bespoke hotel.Although there have been calls to maintain the set for Coronation Street, little appetite exists with local authorities keen to free up new prime city centre land for further commercial development opportunities such as the continuing Spinningfields development. In 2013 the site was sold for £26 million. Much of the site will be demolished, with the exception of Granada House which will be sympathetically retained, reflecting the area's past heritage in television broadcasting, and converted into hotel and office space by 2018. Work started on removing the old equipment from the galleries in February 2018.
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