Major Yorkshire Television programmes include the daily soap Emmerdale and "Heartbeat", as well as the quiz show "Countdown" on Channel 4. Local programmes include the news service "Calander". In 1975 Yorkshire produced one of ITV's few critically-acclaimed sitcoms: Rising Damp, starring Leonard Rossiter.
In the mid-1970s, Yorkshire Television merged with its neighbour Tyne Tees Television to form Trident Television Limited. The other point of the trident was intended to be another neighbour, Anglia Television, but in the event Anglia decided to remain independent. The two stations remained separately run and were required to demerge in 1981 as a condition of the re-award of their ITV contracts. However following rule changes in 1993, the two stations resumed their alliance under the name Yorkshire-Tyne Tees Television plc.
In 1996, Yorkshire Tyne Tees Television made the controversial move of dual branding its stations as "Channel 3". Yorkshire Television had a scaled back version of this branding "Yorkshire Television, on Channel 3", but its neighbour Tyne Tees Television was forced to use the rather long winded name "Channel 3 North East - Tyne Tees Television".
In 1997 Yorkshire Tyne Tees Television plc was acquired by Granada Group plc (now Granada plc). Granada's first move was to scrap the hated-in-some-quarters Channel 3 branding. However dual branding with the "ITV" name was introduced not long after.
Yorkshire Television was placed in charge in transmission control and presentation for all of Granada's television stations in the North of England. The presentation department closed down in 2002 after a unified presentation department for ITV1 in England was set up by LNN in London.
On 28 October 2002, Yorkshire Television was rebranded as ITV1 Yorkshire. The "Yorkshire" name only appears before regional programmes, the rest of the time only the name "ITV1" is shown. The famous Yorkshire Television logo (known as the Cheveron) continues to appear after programmes made by Yorkshire Television, although it is accompanied by the word "Granada" in small type.