[Dave42]

Liberty chief John Malone sets out Virgin growth plans

8 August, 2013 | By Peter White




Liberty Global founder John Malone has addressed rank-and file Virgin Media employees and Chellomedia content staff at a town hall meeting in London.


Malone, who rarely travels by plane, made a trip from the US to rally staff at the meeting and cement plans to grow the cable business over the next few years.

During an open question-and-answer session at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, Malone talked about his history in the UK – he was previously a shareholder in Telewest – and how the market has changed over the past 10 years.

Malone also talked through growth opportunities, particularly around innovations for Virgin Media’s television service and quad-play offer.

Liberty Global acquired Virgin Media in February for £10.2bn and Malone reiterated that the deal was designed to quickly add significant scale in Europe’s largest and most dynamic media market.

The buyout means that Liberty Global has more than 25 million customers in 14 countries.

Malone hired former BSkyB executive Tom Mockeridge as chief executive in May, after former chief exec Neil Berkett decided to step down following the sale.

In addition to Mockeridge’s appointment, there have been a number of changes to the Virgin Media management in the past few months, including the departure of Cindy Rose, executive director of digital entertainment, and the promotion of long-term Liberty Global European programming executive Stephane David to VM executive director of content.

This week, Liberty Global restructured the management of its Central and Eastern European division to drive further international co-operation following the Virgin Media deal.

The meeting was attended by more than 200 employees of Virgin Media, Liberty Global and its content arm Chellomedia, which operates dozens of channels worldwide and was recently put up for sale.


there you go Clint