SUGGESTIONS that Granada would soon bid for Yorkshire Tyne Tees Television were thought wide of the mark according to sources close to Granada yesterday.
At present Granada hold an effective 24% of the Leeds-based company. That included almost 4% held in a ``dead lock'' company jointly owned with merchant bank advisers Lazards.
This is a neat, if controversial way of exceeding the 20% maximum stake currently permissable under the broadcasting regulations, but which will give Granada a tactical advantage when the media cross ownership are changed when the Broadcasting Bill becomes an Act, probably later next month.
Granada chairman Gerry Robinson has made no secret of his media ambitions. He has set up the Granada Media Group which currently has three major activities.
One is the exploitation of programme making and which will involve an increasing amount of sponsorship such as the agreement with Cadbury Schweppes for Coronation Street.
The second string is programme making for other broadcasters and selling from Granada's existing programme library and also that of its LWT subsidiary.
It has also put in place an arrangement with BSkyB to sell not only library programmes including episodes of Coronation Street stretching back for 25 years but also to make programmes for minority interests such as motorists and gardeners. Altogether there are three new channels being introduced by Granada Sky Broadcasting.
Yorkshire chairman Ward Thomas is reconciled to a Granada bid in time although he is prepared to put up a very doughty fight if the terms are not right.
Mr Thomas was one of the founders of Grampian Television in 1961. His negotiating hand has been strengthened by the appointment of Bruce Gyngell as chief executive.
Mr Gyngell rescued the ailing TV-AM through the introduction of Roland Rat and has recently launched an attack on the overall standards in British television. Yorkshire shares as currently standing at almost their all-time high at 1138p.
On the basis of current year profits rising from #21.6m to about #25m they are trading at nearly 40 times earnings or about twice the rating of Granada which would have to find at least #500m to effect a successful takeover.
While Mr Robinson is almost revered for his speed of action and success to date, there are many in the city who would prefer him to achieve some significant progress in selling some of the major hotels which he acquired through the #3.9bn takeover of Forte before embarking upon more takeovers.
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