Liberty Global PLC

Logo of Liberty Global PLC

Liberty Global PLC first entered the Irish Market in 2005, when they purchased telecommunications company NTL’s Irish operations. However, it wasn’t until 2015/2016 that they became a major player in the Irish TV Market following the purchase of TV3 and UTV, via Virgin Media (a subsidiary of LIberty Global), and the establishment of Virgin Media Ireland, whose cumulative audience share as of 2022 was 18.79 %.


The origins of Liberty Global can be traced back to Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI), an American Telecommunications company founded by John C. Malone in 1983. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, TCI expanded aggressively, purchasing a number of cable television systems across the United States, and establishing itself as a key player in the industry. In 1998 TCI expanded internationally, acquiring cable companies across Europe. These international operations were rebranded under the name “Liberty Media International”.
Liberty Global is a British-Dutch-American company created in 2005 when Liberty Media International merged with UnitedGlobalCom (UGC), who owned 50% of Dutch telecommunications provider United Pan-Europe Communications (UPC). In June 2013, Liberty Global acquired British cable group Virgin Media for $23.3 billion in cash and stock, an acquisition which was noted by the New York Time as being one of the 10 largest cable deals of all time. In November 2014, Liberty Global acquired Dutch cable company Ziggo for €10 billion, and in November 2020, purchased Sunrise Communications AG for for $7.4 billion. Since 2015, Liberty Global has also expanded into Caribbean and Latin American Markets.


These acquisitions have helped to make Liberty Global one of the largest cable and broadband providers in Europe, and indeed the world. In 2022, Liberty Global's reported revenue was $7.29 Billion, down 22% from the previous year.

Key Facts

Business FormCommercial / For-profit
Legal FormPublic Limited Company

Ownership

Media Outlets

Other Media Outlets

Other TV Outlets
  • Virgin Media One
  • Virgin Media Two
  • Virgin Media Three
  • Virgin Media More
Other Online Outlets
  • Virgin Media Player

Facts

Other Media BusinessesFilm and TV Production
  • All3Media 50% (United Kingdom)
Satellite Platform
  • Platforma Canal+ 100% (France)
Telecommunications Provider
  • Virgin Media Ireland (100%) (Ireland)
  • Virgin Media 02 50% (United Kingdom)
  • Vodafone Group PLC 4.9% (United Kingdom)
  • VodafoneZiggo 50% (Netherlands)
  • Telenet Group N.V 100% (Belgium)
  • Sunrise LLC (100%) (Switzerland)
Telecommunications Proivder
  • UPC 100% (Netherlands)
Founding Year2005
Founder
  • John C. Malone
    was the CEO of Tele-Communications Inc. from 1973 to 1996. He is now chairman and largest voting shareholder of Liberty Media, Liberty Global, and Qurate Retail Group (formerly known as Liberty Interactive), and owns 7% of Lionsgate and Starz Inc. He is believed to be the largest private landowner in the United States, possessing more than 3,437 square miles.
Employees20,600
ContactGriffin House
161 Hammersmith Road
W6 8BS London
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
+44 (0) 20 8483 6300
www.libertyglobal.com
Tax / ID NumberUK Companies House Number: 8379990
Revenue5.96 Billion Pounds (7.294 Billion Dollars)
Operating Profit8.07 Billion Pounds (9.9 Billion US Dollars)
Advertising (in % of total funding)Missing Data
Executive Board
  • Michael T. Fries
    Chief Executive Officer - was appointed Chief Executive Officer in 2005. Fries is also Executive Chairman of Liberty Latin America (LLA), a broadband and mobile operator in Chile, Puerto Rico, the Caribbean and other parts of Latin America, and serves on the corporate boards of Grupo Televisa and Lionsgate Entertainment. Fries also serves as Digital Communications Governor and Steering Committee Member of the World Economic Forum and recognition.
  • Charlie Bracken
    Chief Financial Officer - Iís Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Liberty Global. He sits on the board of Telenet Group Holding NV, and is a member of the Supervisory Board at VodafoneZiggo Group Holding B.V.Prior to joining Liberty Global, Bracken worked for Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). From 1994 until 1999, he held a number of positions at Goldman Sachs International in London, including Executive Director, Communications, Media and Technology.
  • Enrique Rodriguez
    Chief technology Officer - joined Liberty Global as Executive Vice President & Chief Technology Officer in 2018.Prior to this, Enrique worked at a number of companies including TiVo, where he was president and CEO, and AT&T, Cisco, Thomson, SiriusXM and Microsoft.
  • Bryan Hall
    General Counsel and Secretary - is Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary for Liberty Global. Prior to joining Liberty Global in 2012, he was General Counsel of Virgin Media Inc., a public company traded on NASDAQ, from 2004 until 2011. Previously he was a corporate lawyer in New York specializing in M&A, finance and LBOs, including being partner in the law firm Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson in New York from 2000-2004.
  • Andrea Salvato
    Chief Development Officer - is Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer for Liberty Global. Andrea sits on the board of Virgin Media O2, the UK joint venture of Liberty Global and Telefonica S.A. He is also a director on the boards of Formula E and All3Media. Before joining Liberty Global in July 2005, Andrea was a Managing Director at JPMorgan Chase’s investment banking division. Prior to JPMorgan Chase, Andrea held roles at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and Bain and Company. He studied Chemistry at the University of Bristol and is a former Courtaulds Chemistry Scholar. Andrea is a member of the University of Bristol Development Board and is also Co-Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Street Child.
Non-Executive Board
  • John C. Malone
    null
  •  Tony G. Werner
    null
  •  J. David Wargo
    null
  •  Daniel Evencio Sanchez
    null
  • Green Larry Romrell
    null
  •  Richard Roy
    null
  • Miranda Curtis
    null
  • Paul Gould
    null
  • Marisa Danielle Drew
    null
  •  Andrew James Cole
    null
Headlines
Data Publicly Available
ownership data is easily available from other sources, e. g. public registries etc.
Meta DataEmployee figure taken from Liberty Global Website.

Revenue Figure and Operating Profit taken from Fame Database. Figures from 2022.
Sources