Basis of Presentation

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2013

Basis of Presentation [Abstract]

Basis of Presentation

Basis of Presentation

Liberty Global plc (Liberty Global) is a public limited company organized under the laws of England and Wales. As a result of a series of mergers that were completed on June 7, 2013, Liberty Global became the publicly-held parent company of the successors by merger of Liberty Global, Inc. (LGI) (the predecessor to Liberty Global) and Virgin Media Inc. (Virgin Media), as further described in note 3. In these notes, the terms “we,” “our,” “our company” and “us” may refer, as the context requires, to Liberty Global (or its predecessor) or collectively to Liberty Global (or its predecessor) and itssubsidiaries.

We are an international provider of video, broadband internet, fixed-line telephony and mobile services, with consolidated operations at December 31, 2013 in 14 countries. Through Virgin Media and Unitymedia KabelBW GmbH (Unitymedia KabelBW), each a wholly-owned subsidiary, and Telenet Group Holding NV (Telenet), a 57.4%-owned subsidiary, we provide video, broadband internet, fixed-line telephony and mobile services in the United Kingdom (U.K.), Germany and Belgium, respectively. Through UPC Holding BV (UPC Holding), also a wholly-owned subsidiary, we provide (i) video, broadband internet and fixed-line telephony services in nine European countries and (ii) mobile services in three European countries. The operations of Virgin Media, Unitymedia KabelBW, Telenet and UPC Holding are collectively referred to herein as the “European Operations Division.” Our broadband communications operations in Chile are provided through our 80%-owned subsidiary, VTR GlobalCom SpA (VTR GlobalCom), formerly known as VTR GlobalCom S.A. Through our 80%-owned subsidiary, VTR Wireless SpA (VTR Wireless), formerly known as VTR Wireless S.A., we also offer mobile services in Chile. The operations of VTR GlobalCom and VTR Wireless are collectively referred to herein as the “VTR Group.” For information regarding strategic changes that we have implemented with regard to the mobile operations of VTR Wireless, see note 8. Our consolidated operations also include the broadband communications operations of Liberty Puerto Rico (as defined in note 3), an entity in which we hold a 60% ownership interest.

At December 31, 2013, we owned programming interests in Europe and Latin America that were held through Chellomedia BV (Chellomedia). Certain of Chellomedia’s subsidiaries and affiliates provided programming services to certain of our broadband communications operations, primarily in Europe. On January 31, 2014, we completed the sale of substantially all of Chellomedia’s assets (the Chellomedia Disposal Group). On May 23, 2012, we completed the sale of our then 54.15%-owned subsidiary, Austar United Communications Limited (Austar), a provider of direct-to-home (DTH) services in Australia. We have accounted for the Chellomedia Disposal Group and Austar as discontinued operations in our consolidated financial statements. Accordingly, (i) the Chellomedia Disposal Group is reflected as a discontinued operation in our consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2013, (ii) our consolidated statements of operations and cash flows have been reclassified to present the Chellomedia Disposal Group and Austar as discontinued operations for all periods presented and (iii) the amounts presented in these notes relate only to our continuing operations, unless otherwise noted. For additional information regarding our discontinued operations, see note 4.

Unless otherwise indicated, ownership percentages and convenience translations into United States (U.S.) dollars are calculated as of December 31, 2013.