Getty Images <\/p>\n
Liberty Global recently acquired a small stake in U.K. broadcaster ITV <\/p>\n
John Malone's international cable giant Liberty Global is not planning big acquisitions of content companies, CEO Mike Fries told an investor conference in New York on Friday. <\/p>\n
Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference, he said recent deals, such as one to acquire U.K. production firm All3Media in a joint deal with Discovery Communications, have been small, high-return and strategic. They \"don't portend anything bigger or grander,\" Fries said. But he reiterated that the idea that a big company like Liberty Global wouldn't have its fingers in some content pots would be \"crazy.\" <\/p>\n
Summarized Fries: \"We don't have any big transaction on the horizon.\" <\/p>\n
Could Liberty Global acquire a big broadcaster after buying a free-to-air broadcaster in Belgium? Fries said that deal was small and had unique benefits. <\/p>\n
Discussing the recent acquisition of a small stake in ITV, he said it was \"just an opportunistic investment that gives us a seat at the table\" and \"does not portend anything with that company.\" He added that \"owning a broadcaster would be a big step for us and is not one we are contemplating today.\" <\/p>\n
Asked about U.K. pay TV giant BSkyB's plan to acquire Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland and how it would affect Liberty Global, Fries said: \"I don't think it changes anything at all. I think they have just taken a page out of our playbook.\" <\/p>\n
Calling it a \"smart\" transaction, he said the companies are mostly partners even though they also compete for pay TV subscribers. <\/p>\n
Asked if he was concerned about a significant increase in programming costs in Europe similar to U.S. trends, Fries told the Goldman conference that the U.S. and Europe were very different markets. Liberty Global spends about $2 billion per year on content, \"roughly $8 a subscriber, I think that's 80 percent less per sub than Comcast spends, and I don't see that rising,\" he said. \"Europe is different.\" Comcast reported 2013 programming costs of $9.1 billion for its cable business. <\/p>\n
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Liberty Global CEO: No Big Acquisitions on Horizon<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Getty Images Liberty Global recently acquired a small stake in U.K. broadcaster ITV John Malone's international cable giant Liberty Global is not planning big acquisitions of content companies, CEO Mike Fries told an investor conference in New York on Friday Continue reading