Michael Green (television magnate)
Encyclopedia
Michael Philip Green is a British businessman.
He attended Haberdashers' Aske's
School in Elstree
, Hertfordshire
on a scholarship and left, aged 17, with four O-Levels.
After a period working in public relations
, he went into business with his brother, founding the printing and direct mail firm Tangent Industries, making him a millionaire by the time he was 21.
He created Carlton Communications
with his elder brother, David, and they floated the company on the London
stock market
in 1983. Five years later, Carlton bought the US firm Technicolor
. Following the Broadcasting Act 1990
which had changed the criteria for ITV
franchise assignment from quality to commercial, Carlton Television
, in 1992, successfully bid £43m to secure the London weekday ITV franchise previously held by Thames Television
It has been suggested that Green had strongly influenced the Thatcher
government in their 1990 decision to change the criteria through his relationship by marriage with government Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
Lord Young
.
The Times
wrote that Green gained "praise for his buccaneering style, charisma and ability to get a deal done".
Carlton expanded, acquiring other, smaller ITV franchisees until in 2003 it merged with Granada TV to form ITV plc
. As a result of the merger, Green left the company, as he was blamed by some shareholders for the £1 billion failure of ITV Digital.
He remains with Tangent Industries.
He attended Haberdashers' Aske's
Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School
The Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School is a British independent school for boys aged 4–19. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and of the Haileybury Group....
School in Elstree
Elstree
Elstree is a village in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire on the A5 road, about 10 miles north of London. In 2001, its population was 4,765, and forms part of the civil parish of Elstree and Borehamwood, originally known simply as Elstree....
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
on a scholarship and left, aged 17, with four O-Levels.
After a period working in public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
, he went into business with his brother, founding the printing and direct mail firm Tangent Industries, making him a millionaire by the time he was 21.
He created Carlton Communications
Carlton Communications
Carlton Communications was a British media company. It was led by Michael Green and listed on the London Stock Exchange from 1983 until 2 February 2004, when it taken over by Granada plc to form ITV plc with Carlton gaining 32% of the new company....
with his elder brother, David, and they floated the company on the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
stock market
Stock market
A stock market or equity market is a public entity for the trading of company stock and derivatives at an agreed price; these are securities listed on a stock exchange as well as those only traded privately.The size of the world stock market was estimated at about $36.6 trillion...
in 1983. Five years later, Carlton bought the US firm Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
. Following the Broadcasting Act 1990
Broadcasting Act 1990
The Broadcasting Act 1990 is a law of the British parliament, often regarded by both its supporters and its critics as a quintessential example of Thatcherism. The aim of the Act was to reform the entire structure of British broadcasting; British television, in particular, had earlier been...
which had changed the criteria for ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
franchise assignment from quality to commercial, Carlton Television
Carlton Television
Carlton Television was the ITV franchise holder for London and the surrounding counties including the cities of Solihull and Coventry of the West Midlands, south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire,...
, in 1992, successfully bid £43m to secure the London weekday ITV franchise previously held by Thames Television
Thames Television
Thames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....
It has been suggested that Green had strongly influenced the Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
government in their 1990 decision to change the criteria through his relationship by marriage with government Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills is a cabinet position in the United Kingdom government. Its secondary title is the President of the Board of Trade...
Lord Young
David Young, Baron Young of Graffham
David Ivor Young, Baron Young of Graffham, PC DL is a British Conservative politician and businessman.-Early life:Young is the elder son of a businessman who imported flour and later set up as a manufacturer of coats for children...
.
The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
wrote that Green gained "praise for his buccaneering style, charisma and ability to get a deal done".
Carlton expanded, acquiring other, smaller ITV franchisees until in 2003 it merged with Granada TV to form ITV plc
ITV plc
ITV plc is a British media company that operates 12 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV Network, the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom...
. As a result of the merger, Green left the company, as he was blamed by some shareholders for the £1 billion failure of ITV Digital.
He remains with Tangent Industries.