Talk of the trade: Granada delivers

CHANNEL 4, which came out well in last week's school report from the Independent Television Commission, is a 'publisher/contractor' company, buying in most of its programmes from independent producers. You would not have guessed that from the commentators who seized on the ITC's criticisms of Carlton Television as a sign that the system does not work. However, supporters of the original ITV formula, by which companies make their own programmes, were delighted to see the old-timer Granada do so well in the ITC's assessment. In contrast to Carlton, Granada delivered more programmes to the network than it promised in its franchise application - and won several accolades for them in last week's Royal Television Society awards. Not much has been heard lately from those who predicted doom when the Granada chairman, Gerry Robinson, eased David Plowright out of the company in 1992.