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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.
InnovationCATVThe first antennas are built in rural and mountainous areas of the US, creating a Community Antennae Television System (CATV).
Bob Magness (left) merges Western Microwave Inc and Community Television Inc to form TeleCommunications Inc (TCI).
Company HQ moves to Denver.
1968
Gene Schneider's company becomes United Cable Television Corporation (United Cable).
1974
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).
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
UPC's share price collapses due to leverage profile and the bursting of the dotcom bubble. Liberty Media steps in as a majority shareholder.
UnitedGlobalCom (UGC) transitions into UGC Europe.2001
Gene Schneider is inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame.
UPC files for bankruptcy and UGC undergoes significant restructuring.2002
UPC comes out of bankruptcy under Liberty Media International ownership and Liberty Media Corp (LMC) takes a controlling stake in UGC.
2004
Mike Fries appointed CEO of UGC; Schneider family bought out by LMC.
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 U.K. 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.
2019InnovationCable CowboysGene Schneider becomes a pioneer of the cable television industry. Together with his brother Richard, they partner with Bill Daniels to build a long-distance microwave cable system in Casper, Wyoming.
John Malone (left), president of Jerrold Electronics, a division of General Instruments, becomes CEO of TCI, appointed by Bob Magness (right)
1973
Gene Schneider sells United Cable to Malone's TCI for $2.1bn. Schneider retains some foreign holdings that TCI doesn't acquire, to form United International Holdings (UIH) with $20m of initial equity, a holding company for cable television and related assets, which by 1991 consists of 5 countries: Norway, Sweden, Malta, Israel and Hungary.
1989 UIH goes public at $19 per share which brings the company's valuation to $215 million.
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 MOMENTUnitedGlobalCom and Liberty Media International combine to create Liberty Global Inc.
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.
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 customer’s 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.
1993877kCustomers1.6mHomes passed8Countries we operate in
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