CEO Mike Fries says he's 'excited for the competition' in wake of the Comcast-Sky deal.

Jeff Baumgartner, Senior Editor

September 25, 2018

3 Min Read
Liberty Global Ready to Lock Horns With Comcast

Things could get interesting in Europe now that Comcast is buying Sky. While Liberty Global may partner with Sky in securing and licensing content, including live sports and movies, the companies are also "healthy competitors," Liberty Global CEO Mike Fries acknowledged to Bloomberg in an interview in which the exec weighed in on the implications of Comcast's pricey play for the UK-based video and media giant.

"We're excited for the competition" with Comcast, Fries said. (See Will Comcast's Pricey Play for Sky Pay Off?, Comcast Boosts Cash Offer for Sky and Comcast Outbids Fox for Sky With Offer of £17.28 Per Share.)

And while Liberty Global Inc. (Nasdaq: LBTY) doesn't tangle with Sky in markets such as Italy and Germany (Liberty Global has been selling off German assets), its Virgin Media Inc. (Nasdaq: VMED) unit does face off with Sky in the UK and Ireland. "In the UK is where we'll square up," Fries stressed, adding later that Virgin Media is Liberty Global's top growth engine in the region. (See Liberty Global: A Tale of Two Companies? and Liberty Stages European Retreat.)

And he's confident that Liberty Global -- which is a partner of Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) in some respects (they are, for instance, part of the RDK Management LLC joint venture for set-top box and gateway software) -- will remain strong in its footprint, where it generally has about half of the video and broadband market.

"We feel really solid and secure" in Liberty Global's existing service footprint, Fries said. (See RDK Management clears path for apps on set-top boxes.)

Figure 1: Liberty CEO Mike Fries offered a word of advice to Brian Roberts as US-based Comcast gets ready to open up shop across the pond. (Image source: Bloomberg) Liberty CEO Mike Fries offered a word of advice to Brian Roberts as US-based Comcast gets ready to open up shop across the pond. (Image source: Bloomberg)

Fries also said Comcast is paying an "extraordinary price" for Sky, providing a "great outcome for Sky shareholders."

At the same time, the premium that Comcast is paying for Sky "validates, to a large degree, the value of European pay-TV and broadband" and Liberty Global's own business model, he added. "There's this huge disconnect between public and private multiples."

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He also imparted some guidance to Brian Roberts, Comcast's chairman and CEO, as the company now moves to seal up the Sky acquisition and dive deeper into Europe.

"My advice to Brian would be to stay rational," Fries said. "The UK market is a highly rational market -- very competitive, very promotional and transactional, but rational … I think you have to stay rational when you put that kind of money out."

— Jeff Baumgartner, Senior Editor, Light Reading

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About the Author(s)

Jeff Baumgartner

Senior Editor, Light Reading

Jeff Baumgartner is a Senior Editor for Light Reading and is responsible for the day-to-day news coverage and analysis of the cable and video sectors. Follow him on X and LinkedIn.

Baumgartner also served as Site Editor for Light Reading Cable from 2007-2013. In between his two stints at Light Reading, he led tech coverage for Multichannel News and was a regular contributor to Broadcasting + Cable. Baumgartner was named to the 2018 class of the Cable TV Pioneers.

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