The period 1956-1990 saw massive changes in television technology. Outside broadcasts became a regular occurrence with live coverage of events, particularly sports events, beamed in from all around the world. Early episodes of Coronation Street and many other Granada programmes had been made live and in studio but as technology improved programmes were recorded and later edited.
But perhaps the biggest innovation came in the late 1980s with the introduction of video cameras, transforming programme-making. It was no longer necessary to have film developed and to go though the then laborious editing process. Instead, footage was instant and along with computerised editing helped forge new boundaries for production staff. Granada grasped the new technology, opening up one of the British television’s first fully electronic newsrooms at the Albert Dock in Liverpool. But the new technology, as ever, led to often fractious negotiations with management, as fears of job losses threatened.
