Morrison had been due to depart Granada some time next year, but his departure has been brought forward after the company's shareholders voiced their unhappiness about the disastrous ITV Digital venture. Someone has had to take the fall.
The collapse of the digital broadcaster, funded jointly by Granada and Carlton Communications, saw the company report a £169m pre-tax loss when Granada posted its interim results in May.
Heads have already rolled over the disastrous episode. In May, Stuart Prebble quit his job as chief executive of ITV in the wake of the collapse. He had formerly been the chief executive of the digital operation.
After Morrison, who is 54, retires, it is thought that he will be replaced by a non-executive deputy chairman. This would leave executive chairman Allen in a position of more power.
Reports suggest that an announcement could be made before the end of the week.
Granada's future is uncertain. As the saga of a merger with Carlton drags on, the possibility of foreign investment becomes more likely, and audiences and advertising revenues at ITV continue to decline.
Last week, Carlton and Granada said they would merge their backroom operations and marketing efforts, a move that was damned by some in the advertising industry as a "merger by stealth".
Shares in Granada dipped by 2.47% when the market opened this morning to trade at 89p.
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