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
British Satellite Broadcasting general entertainment and living/current affairs. Unfortunately, this increased the size of the dishes which the public had to purchase from 25 centimetres to 35–40 centimetres; subsidies from BSB helped maintain retail prices at £250. BSB's satellite channels for the general public were: With a sixth for business users: BSB launched its service on 25 March 1990, with the slogan "It's Smart to be Square". The launch, six months late, came 13 months after Sky's launch. BSB was due to start broadcasting in September 1989 but was delayed by problems with the supply of receiving equipment and because BSB wanted to