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The History of Liberty Global
Liberty Global was launched in 2005, with operations across Europe – including Sweden, Norway, France and Eastern Europe – as well as in Japan and Australia. Change and reinvention are in our DNA and our unique ability to be agile in a fast-moving industry is a key ingredient of our continued success.
Gene Schneider sells United Cable Television Corporation to John Malone's TCI but retains its international cable operations to form United International Holdings (UIH). By 1991 UIH had cable assets in Norway, Sweden, Malta, Israel and Hungary.
1989
UIH goes public.
1993
UIH and UPC buy out Philips' stake in United and Philips Communications, which is renamed United Pan-Europe Communications NV (UPC).
1997InnovationHigh Speed
UPC launches high-speed internet and digital television services.
InnovationThe Power of 3Phrase 'triple play' coined.
InnovationJohn Malone is inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame.
UGC becomes largest broadband communications provider outside the US.
2001
UPC and UGC restructure.
2003InnovationVoice OverUPC launches Voice over IP (VoiP) services.
MILESTONE MOMENTUGC and Liberty Media International combine to create Liberty Global Inc, with holdings stretching across Europe to as far afield as Japan, Australia and Chile.
UPC Bloom introduced, with tagline "Simply for Everyone".
2006
Liberty Global acquires majority stake in Telenet (Belgium) in exchange for UPC Belgium.
Sells UPC Sweden, UPC Norway & UPC France.2006
Liberty Global acquires Unitymedia (Germany).
2010
Liberty Global acquires KabelBW (Germany).
2011
Libert Global sells Austar (Australia).
Becomes second largest international cable operator.2012
Liberty Global raises stake in Telenet (Belgium) from 50.2% to 58%.
2013InnovationEven FasterLiberty Global introduces 500 Mbps broadband.
Deploys 1 million Horizon boxes.
Liberty Global and Discovery Communications become joint owners of All3Media. Liberty Global acquires 6% stake in ITV, which it then increased to 9.9%.
2014
Liberty Global establishes Liberty Latin America tracking shares, focusing on assets in Latin America and the Caribbean.
2015
Liberty Global acquires Cable & Wireless Communications in the Caribbean.
2016
Liberty Global merges Dutch operation with Vodafone, creating joint venture VodafoneZiggo.
2016
Mike Fries is inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame.
2017Innovation10M Connect Boxes10m Connect Boxes delivered to customers' homes.
InnovationNext Gen BroadbandLiberty Global launches 1 Gbps broadband.
10m Connect Boxes delivered to customers' homes.
InnovationNext Gen Broadband1 Gbps broadband available to more than 8m customers across Europe.
Innovation1 Gbps broadband available to more than 10m customers across Europe.
Virgin Media merges with O2 to become a converged national champion, in a joint venture between Liberty Global and Telefónica.
2021
Liberty Global, Telefónica and Infravia Capital Partners announce a joint venture to build a new fibre network in the UK, covering up to 7 million homes.
2022
Liberty Media is formed from a spin-off of TCI.
1991
UIH partners with Philips Electronics and merges its operations with cable operations owned by Philips to create United and Philips Communications (UPC). Holdings include Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Ireland, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden.
1995InnovationAlways On UPC launches 'Always On' broadband services.
UPC goes public in a $1.3bn offering. UIH retains 62% of the shares.
UIH is renamed UnitedGlobalCom (UGC).
Malone sells TCI to AT&T for $55 billion.1999
Mike Fries becomes President and COO of UGC. Liberty Media becomes a key partner and John Malone joins the board.
1999
Turbulent times as the dotcom bubble bursts. Liberty Media becomes a majority shareholder in UPC. UnitedGlobalCom (UGC) transitions into UGC Europe.
2001
Gene Schneider is inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame.
2002 Liberty Media Corp (LMC) takes a controlling stake in UGC.
2004
Mike Fries appointed CEO of UGC.
2004
Mike Fries appointed President and CEO of Liberty Global.
2005InnovationHigh DefinitionLiberty Global launches video on demand TV services (VOD), high-definition (HD) TV and digital video recorder (DVR).
InnovationFastLiberty Global launches 100 Mbps broadband.
Liberty Global sells J-com (Japan).
2010InnovationSustainable BusinessLiberty Global is accepted into the Dow Jones sustainability index.
InnovationA New HorizonLiberty Global launches Horizon TV platform.
Liberty Global acquires Virgin Media (UK). Liberty Global redomiciles into the UK and becomes Liberty Global plc.
2013
Liberty Global acquires Ziggo (Netherlands). Sells Chellomedia (now AMC Networks International).
2014
Liberty Global invests in the all-electric street car racing series, Formula E Holdings.
2015
Virgin Media announces the Project Lightning investment programme to bring ultrafast broadband to 4 million homes in the UK.
2015
Liberty Global becomes world's largest international TV and broadband company.
2016
Liberty Global acquires the Belgian mobile operator BASE (BASE and Telenet logos).
2016 Liberty Latin America spins off as a separate public company at the end of 2017.
Liberty Global sells UPC Austria to Deutsche Telekom.2017
Liberty Global sells DTH (Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania) to M7 Group.
2018InnovationNext Gen EntertainmentLiberty Global launches Horizon 4 TV Platform.
Liberty Global sells Unity Media in Germany, and UPC Hungary, UPC Romania and UPC in the Czech Republic to Vodafone.
2019
Liberty Global acquires 100% of Sunrise Communications Group to create Sunrise UPC. It later rebrands to just 'Sunrise', the leading fixed-mobile challenger in Switzerland
2021
Telenet agrees to a fibre partnership with Fluvius to bring a ‘network of the future’ to Flanders
20221993877kCustomers1.6mHomes passed8Countries we operate in
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