Basis of Presentation

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2014

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [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). 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 September 30, 2014 in 14 countries. Through Virgin Media and Unitymedia KabelBW GmbH (Unitymedia KabelBW), each a wholly-owned subsidiary, and Telenet Group Holding NV (Telenet), a 57.0%-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 four European countries. The operations of Virgin Media, Unitymedia KabelBW, Telenet and UPC Holding are collectively referred to herein as the “European Operations Division.” In Chile, we provide (i) video, broadband internet and fixed-line telephony services through VTR GlobalCom SpA (VTR GlobalCom) and (ii) mobile services through VTR Wireless SpA (VTR Wireless). The operations of VTR GlobalCom and VTR Wireless are collectively referred to herein as “VTR.” Our consolidated operations also include the broadband communications operations of Liberty Cablevision of Puerto Rico LLC (Liberty Puerto Rico), 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). On January 31, 2014, we completed the sale of substantially all of Chellomedia’s assets (the Chellomedia Disposal Group). Accordingly, (i) the Chellomedia Disposal Group is reflected as a discontinued operation in our condensed consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2013, (ii) our condensed consolidated statements of operations and cash flows have been reclassified to present the Chellomedia Disposal Group as a discontinued operation for all periods presented and (iii) the amounts presented in these notes relate only to our continuing operations, unless otherwise noted. Certain entities within the Chellomedia Disposal Group provide programming services to certain of our broadband communications operations, primarily in Europe. For additional information regarding our discontinued operation, see note 3.

On January 26, 2014, our board of directors approved a share split in the form of a share dividend (the 2014 Share Dividend), which constitutes a bonus issue under our articles of association and English law, of one Liberty Global Class C ordinary share on each outstanding Liberty Global Class A, Class B and Class C ordinary share as of the February 14, 2014 record date. The distribution date for the 2014 Share Dividend was March 3, 2014. All Liberty Global share and per share amounts presented herein have been retroactively adjusted to give effect to the 2014 Share Dividend.

Our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (GAAP) and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X for interim financial information. Accordingly, these financial statements do not include all of the information required by GAAP or Securities and Exchange Commission rules and regulations for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, these financial statements reflect all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) necessary for a fair presentation of the results of operations for the interim periods presented. The results of operations for any interim period are not necessarily indicative of results for the full year. These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with our 2013 consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in our 2013 Annual Report on Form 10-K/A.

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. Estimates and assumptions are used in accounting for, among other things, the valuation of acquisition-related assets and liabilities, allowances for uncollectible accounts, programming and copyright costs, deferred income taxes and related valuation allowances, loss contingencies, fair value measurements, impairment assessments, capitalization of internal costs associated with construction and installation activities, useful lives of long-lived assets, share-based compensation and actuarial liabilities associated with certain benefit plans. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Unless otherwise indicated, ownership percentages and convenience translations into United States (U.S.) dollars are calculated as of September 30, 2014.

Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current period presentation.