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
+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
    null
  • Charlie Bracken
    null
  • Enrique Rodriguez
    null
  • Bryan Hall
    null
  • Andrea Salvato
    null
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