Granada plc another since 1935. It was awarded the North of England ITV franchise in 1954, broadcasting as Granada Television. The company also established a chain of television rental shops from 1959 onwards. Granada entered the publishing business in the 1960s: it combined its operations into the publisher Hart-Davis, MacGibbon in 1972. William Collins, Sons acquired Granada Publishing in 1983. During the 1980s, Granada became involved in the British Satellite Broadcasting satellite television company. This went on air in March 1990, but merged with Sky Television plc in November 1990, to form British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB), in which Granada had a minority
Satellite television by region Satellite television by region Satellite television varies in the different regions around the world. South African-based Multichoice's DStv is the main digital satellite television provider in sub-Saharan Africa, broadcasting principally in English, but also in Portuguese, German and Afrikaans. Multichoice's DStv had 6 million paid subscribers on 30 September 2016. CanalSat Afrique, owned by France's Canal+ and Vivendi, is the main provider in French-speaking Africa. Another entrant into the satellite television circuit in Africa is MyTv Africa, a subsidiary of Dubai-based Strong Technologies. The launch of Free2view has made satellite TV available to the masses in Africa. Free2view currently broadcasts