ITV close to signing deal over Salford move

 

ITV is reportedly close to signing a deal to move to the Media City in Salford which could mean a new home for its soap Coronation Street.

 

According to Broadcast ITV is close to signing a deal to move to the Media City in Salford. The possibility of ITV moving to the new studios in Salford – where the BBC in Manchester will be housed – has been mooted for some time. Now though negotiations are thought to be in the advanced stages between ITV and the site operator Peel Media over securing a purpose built studio at the Media City.

If ITV were to move to the Media City it could mean a new home for ITV’s soap Coronation Street. For over a year now there has been discussions about moving production of the soap to a new home because of the limited space at Corrie’s existing home. If ITV were to move Corrie to the Media City it would mean the soaps outdoor set would have to be rebuilt. However, the BBC were considering moving EastEnders to Pinewood Studios for the switch to HD which would have meant its outdoor set would have to been rebuilt as well – for the foreseeable future though EastEnders will remain at Elstree. On drama that is moving homes to a new studio is Casualty which has been in Bristol for 25 years but will move to Cardiff next year.

Coronation Street’s producer Phil Collinson has backed moving production of the soap. However, a deal to move ITV to the Salford Media City is still thought to be a few weeks away yet.