Liberty Global Enjoys Record Gains

Capping off a big growth year, Liberty Global racked up record subscriber gains in the fourth quarter. The international MSO reported earlier today that it netted 491,000 new video, broadband and cable telephony customers in Q4, boosting its total pickup of new revenue generating units (RGUs) to 1.25 million for the year. Liberty didn't break down its quarterly gains by category. But, for the full year, it picked up more than 600,000 broadband subscribers, 480,000 voice customers and 170,000 new video subscribers. The last number is a bit deceiving, though, because it includes a gain of 537,000 digital video subscribers offset by a loss of 367,000 analog video subscribers. The video gain also includes an undisclosed amount of new satellite TV subscribers in some markets. Thanks to these gains, Liberty Global closed out last year with 19.2 million RGUs, up 42% from its year-end 2004 total. The MSO also ended 2005 with 14.8 million customer relationships, up 39% from the year before.