Plus
Launched	October 1, 1996
Closed	November 1, 2004
Owned by	Granada Sky Broadcasting
Formerly called	Granada Plus, G Plus

Granada Plus was a satellite channel run by Granada Sky Broadcasting. It was launched on 1 October 1996 and was later rebranded as G Plus or G+ and then simply Plus. However it was generally still referred to by the public at large by its former name. Image File history File links Gplustv. ... October 1 is the 274th day of the year (275th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... November 1 is the 305th day of the year (306th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 60 days remaining. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Granada Sky Broadcasting is a wholly-owned subsidary of ITV plc. ... Granada Sky Broadcasting is a wholly-owned subsidary of ITV plc. ... October 1 is the 274th day of the year (275th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ...

Launch and early years

At launch, the channel showed only programmes made originally by Granada Television and London Weekend Television (itself recently acquired by Granada Television.) Many of these programmes would have been unshown since their original transmissions, and as such the channel found itself showing rare classic programmes which may have looked badly dated, among them On The Buses, The Comedians, The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club, and Crown Court as well as classic Coronation Street episodes first screened in 1976. These early schedules lacked the commercial appeal of rival channel UK Gold, which had long since moved from showing little-seen gems to showing TV's 'greatest hits'. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Movie poster for On The Buses 1971 theatrical release On The Buses was a British situation comedy created by Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney. ... NOTE: This article does not refer to the Graham Greene novel The Comedians. The Comedians is a British television show from the 1970s (later reprised in the 1980s) which gave a stage to nightclub and working mens club comedians of the era, including Stan Boardman, Frank Carson, and Bernard... The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club was a TV variety show seen on Granada in the UK in the mid 1970s. ... Crown Court and County Court in Oxford. ... Coronation Street is Britains longest-running television soap opera, first broadcast on Friday December 9, 1960, in the Granada region of ITV. The programme is consistently the highest-rated programme on British television. ... UKTV Gold, known as UK Gold until March 8, 2004, is a British television channel, originally launched on November 1, 1992 (coincidentally, the day before Channel 4s 10th birthday) as a joint venture between Thames Television and the BBC to show their classic archive programming (see: rerun). ...

It wasn't long before Granada Plus revamped their onscreen identity, and in order to look more contemporary, they started showing more recent programmes made by the ITV network (at the time, Granada were busy buying up old rivals such as Yorkshire Television and Tyne Tees Television, in preparation for a unified ITV PLC) as well as some programmes originally shown on the BBC but made by independent production companies. Many of the channel's programmes were cut by up to 5 minutes for commercial timing purposes, leading some viewers to comment that the channel should have been called "Granada Minus". It has been suggested that Channel 3 (UK) be merged into this article or section. ... Yorkshire Television is the ITV contractor for Yorkshire, England, and the surrounding areas. ... Tyne Tees Television is the ITV television contractor for North East England. ... ITV plc (LSE: ITV) is the British media company that operates 11 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV Network, the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, usually known as the BBC (and also informally known as the Beeb or Auntie) is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion... A television advertisement or commercial (often called an advert in the United Kingdom) is a form of advertising in which goods, services, organizations, ideas, etc. ...

Closure

The story of Granada Plus's closure is of interest. Come November 1, 2004 — ITV3's launch date — it was looking increasingly likely that ITV3 would not be launched on Sky Digital. However, frantic discussions were going on beind the scenes: ITV wanted the 7 million or so Sky viewers available; Sky didn't want to give Freeview any advantage; and to further complicate matters, ITV wanted the new channel to be as high up on the EPG as possible. November 1 is the 305th day of the year (306th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 60 days remaining. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... ITV3 is an entertainment television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV plc. ... Sky Digital is the brand name for British Sky Broadcastings digital satellite television service, transmitted from SES Astra satellites located at 28. ... Freeviews retro logo Freeview is a brand name, owned by DTV Services Ltd. ... The Sky Digital EPG in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. ...

At 3pm, just 6 hours before launch, ITV and Sky finally reached a deal: ITV would buy out Sky's 49.5% stake in GSB for £10 million. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... For details of notes and coins, see British coinage and British banknotes. ...

ITV stopped broadcasting Granada Plus at 4:30 pm. Thus, ITV2 was to broadcast at channel number 118 in the EPG and ITV3 at 119. ITV2 is a free-to-air entertainment television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV plc. ...

Granada Plus were caught unaware; they had sent out their regular highlights email at 3:50 pm. Viewers would have seen Granada Sky Broadcasting disappear mid-programme at 4:30 pm, and ITV2 & ITV3 slides appearing at 5:15 pm.

The countdown to launch appeared at 8pm, with the launch taking place 1 hour later.

The channel's closure annoyed many viewers, as most programmes were not moved over to the new channel.

Programmes

• Benny Hill
• Coronation Street
• The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club
• Van der Valk
• Crown Court
• Watching
• Emmerdale
• George and Mildred
• The Brian Conley Show
• Man About The House
• Thomas & Sarah
• The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
• Upstairs, Downstairs
• The Avengers
• Bless This House
• Doctor in the House
• A Family At War
• Bewitched
• The Dick Van Dyke Show
• Murder, She Wrote
• On The Buses
• I Dream Of Jeannie
• In Sickness & In Health
• Only When I Laugh
• Brian Conley: This Way Up
• Rising Damp
• The Upper Hand
• Peak Practice
• Brush Strokes
• Second Thoughts
• Duty Free
• The Piglet Files
• Spitting Image
• Terry and June
• Hornbowler
• Home To Roost
• The New Statesman
• That's My Boy
• No Place Like Home
• Faith In The Future
• Elvis Presley
• Rich Tea And Sympathy
• Hart To Hart
• French Fields
• Not On Your Nellie
• Miami Vice
• The Rockford Files
• Starsky and Hutch
• Dempsey And Makepeace
• Dick Emery
• Alas Smith and Jones
• Happy Days
• Blind Date
• Gladiators
• Taggart
• The Professionals
• The Equalizer
• Batman
• Cagney and Lacey
• Love Thy Neighbour
• Inspector Morse

Alfred Hawthorn Hill (21 January 1924 – 20 April 1992), better known as Benny Hill, was a prolific English comic, actor and singer, best known for his television programme, The Benny Hill Show. ... Coronation Street is Britains longest-running television soap opera, first broadcast on Friday December 9, 1960, in the Granada region of ITV. The programme is consistently the highest-rated programme on British television. ... The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club was a TV variety show seen on Granada in the UK in the mid 1970s. ... Van der Valk was a UK televison series starring Barry Foster in the title role as a dutch detective. ... Crown Court and County Court in Oxford. ... Watching is a television comedy written by Jim Hitchmough and starred Paul Bown and Emma Wray as mismatched couple Malcolm and Brenda. ... For the 1994 debut album by The Cardigans, see Emmerdale (album). ... George and Mildred was a British sitcom of the 1970s produced by Thames Television. ... The Brian Conley Show was a comedy variety show starring Brian Conley, consisting of comedy sketches, and music. ... Man About the House was a British sitcom, made by Thames Television for ITV. It ran for six series, between August 1973 and April 1976. ... Thomas & Sarah was the only spin-off from the popular LWT drama series Upstairs, Downstairs. ... The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of twelve stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, featuring his famous detective and illustrated by Sidney Paget. ... Upstairs, Downstairs was a BAFTA and Emmy award-winning British drama set in a large Edwardian townhouse in London that depicted the lives of the servants downstairs and their masters upstairs. It ran on ITV for five series from 1971 to 1975. ... The Avengers is a British 1960s television series featuring secret agents in a fantasy 1960s Britain. ... DVD cover Bless This House on the cover of TV Times magazine. ... Doctor in the House is a 1954 British comedy film, directed by Ralph Thomas and produced by Betty Box. ... A Family At War was a British television drama made by Granada Television for ITV. The series was transmitted between 1970 and 1972 and examined the lives of the working-class Ashton family of the city of Liverpool and their experiences during the Second World War. ... This article is about an American television sitcom. ... The Dick Van Dyke Show was an American television situation comedy which aired on CBS from October 3, 1961 to September 7, 1966. ... Jessica in the Murder, She Wrote episode The Cemetery Vote Murder, She Wrote is a long-running television mystery series starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher. ... Movie poster for On The Buses 1971 theatrical release On The Buses was a British situation comedy created by Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney. ... I Dream of Jeannie was a popular American sitcom with a fantasy premise. ... In Sickness and in Health was a BBC television sitcom sequel to the highly successful Til Death Us Do Part. ... Only When I Laugh was a British television sitcom broadcast on ITV during the 1980s. ... Rising Damp was a UK television sitcom produced by Yorkshire Television for ITV, first broadcast from 1974 to 1978. ... The Upper Hand was a sitcom, produced by Central Television and broadcast by ITV from 1990 to 1996. ... Class 10 September 2006 - July 2007 Michael Laight Ben Chantler David Platt Danielle Bailey Damien Mee Andy Smith Anne Louise Burke Heather Williams Michael Rutter Marlon Estevez Nathan Neighbour Katie Addyman Melanie Costello Mr Mike Genders Mrs Sandra Crossland Mrs June Simpson Mrs Teresa Stephens Mrs Lisa Dingle Mrs Debra... Brush Strokes was an Esmonde and Larbey sitcom set in south London and depicting the (mostly) amorous adventures of a good-looking, wisecracking house painter, Jacko (Karl Howman). ... This article is about the 1976 album. ... This article is about a tax measure. ... The Piglet Files is a British sitcom produced by Granada Television. ... Spitting Image was a satirical puppet show that ran on the United Kingdoms ITV television network from 1984 to 1996. ... June Whitfield and Terry Scott on Terry and June Terry and June was a popular British sitcom, broadcast on the BBC from 1979 to 1987. ... Home to Roost was a British sitcom, made by Yorkshire Television and first broadcast on 19 April 1985. ... Rik Mayall as Alan Bstard in The New Statesman The New Statesman was an award-winning British sitcom of the late 1980s and early 1990s satirising the Conservative government of the time. ... This article is about the British sitcom. ... No Place Like Home is the fifth studio album by Scottish band Big Country, released in 1991. ... Elvis Aron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), often known simply as Elvis and also called The King of Rock n Roll or simply The King, was an American singer, musician and actor. ... Stefanie Powers & Robert Wagner Lionel Stander & Freeway Hart to Hart was an American television series starring Robert Wagner as Jonathan Hart and Stefanie Powers as his wife Jennifer, who lived in a wealthy suburb of Los Angeles. ... French Fields is a British situation comedy. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The Rockford Files is an American detective (private investigator) television drama that had its first run on the NBC television network between September 13, 1974 and January 10, 1980 and is in constant syndication to the present day. ... For the film, see Starsky & Hutch (film). ... Dick Emery Dick Emery (February 19, 1919 - January 2, 1983) was a British comedian and actor, popular during the 1960s and 1970s. ... Alas Smith and Jones was a British comedy sketch television series featuring Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... A blind date is a date between two people who have never met and typically know little or nothing about each other. ... Gladiators was a game show produced by LWT for ITV in the United Kingdom from 10 October 1992 to 1 January 2000, (though there was another series filmed in South Africa against the South African Gladiators in 2000 but this was not for UK broadcast) an adaptation of the United... Taggart is a long-running Scottish detective television programme, created by Glenn Chandler, who has written many of the episodes, and made by stv (later SMG plc) for the ITV network. ... The Professionals has a number of meanings, including the following: The Professionals (TV Series) The Professionals is a 1966 Western movie directed by Richard Brooks. ... For the professional wrestler known as The Equalizer, see Bill Dannenhauser. ... Batman (originally referred to as the Bat-Man and still referred to at times as the Batman) is a DC Comics fictional superhero who first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939. ... Cagney and Lacey was an American television series, which aired on CBS for six seasons from 1982 to 1988. ... Love Thy Neighbour was a British sitcom that ran from 13 April 1972 to 22 January 1976, made by Thames Television for ITV. It starred Jack Smethurst, Rudolph Walker, Nina Baden-Semper and Kate Williams. ... Detective Chief Inspector Morse is a fictional character, who features in a series of thirteen detective novels by British author Colin Dexter, though he is better known for the 33 episode TV series produced by Central Independent Television from 1987–2000, in which he was portrayed by John Thaw. ...

Logos

Granada Plus (1996 - 1997) Image File history File links Gplus. ...

G Plus (1999 - 2000) Image File history File links Gplus. ...

PLUS (2002 - 2006) Image File history File links Gplustv. ...