GMTV has held the licence for the breakfast ITV franchise since 1993, when it outbid the previous 6:00 - 9.30 am Channel 3 licence-holder, TV-am. The first show was broadcast on Friday 1 January 1993 and was presented by Eamonn Holmes and Anne Davies, both of whom have since left. It was first intended to be called Sunrise Television, but as Sky News's breakfast programming also went by that name (and still does to this day), Sky protested, resulting in the change of name.
As of November 2009, ITV purchased full control of the broadcaster from The Walt Disney Company's 25% share.
