Basis of Presentation

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2018

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. In these notes, the terms “we,” “our,” “our company” and “us” may refer, as the context requires, to Liberty Global or collectively to Liberty Global and its subsidiaries. We are an international provider of video, broadband internet, fixed-line telephony, mobile and other communications services to residential customers and businesses, with consolidated operations at March 31, 2018 in 11 European countries.

We provide residential and business-to-business (B2B) communication services in (i) the United Kingdom (U.K.) and Ireland through Virgin Media Inc. (Virgin Media), (ii) Germany through Unitymedia GmbH (Unitymedia), (iii) Belgium through Telenet Group Holding N.V. (Telenet), a 57.6%-owned subsidiary, and (iv) seven other European countries through UPC Holding B.V. and UPC Broadband Slovakia s.r.o (collectively, UPC Holding). Virgin Media, Unitymedia and UPC Holding are each wholly-owned subsidiaries of Liberty Global. In addition, we own a 50% noncontrolling interest in the VodafoneZiggo JV (as defined in note 5), which provides video, broadband internet, fixed-line telephony, mobile and B2B services in the Netherlands.

Prior to the completion of the Split-off Transaction (as defined and described in note 4), we also provided residential and B2B services in (i) 18 countries, predominantly in Latin America and the Caribbean, through Cable &Wireless Communications Limited (C&W), (ii) Chile through VTR.com SpA (VTR) and (iii) Puerto Rico through Liberty Cablevision of Puerto Rico LLC (Liberty Puerto Rico). C&W and VTR were wholly-owned subsidiaries, and Liberty Puerto Rico was an entity in which we held a 60.0% ownership interest. C&W also provided (a) B2B services in certain other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and (b) wholesale services over its sub-sea and terrestrial networks that connected over 40 markets in that region. The operations of C&W, VTR, Liberty Puerto Rico and certain other entities that were associated with our businesses in Latin America and the Caribbean are collectively referred to here as the “LiLAC Group.” As a result of the Split-off Transaction, the entities attributed to the LiLAC Group are reflected as discontinued operations in our condensed consolidated statements of operations and cash flows for the three months ended March 31, 2017. Unless otherwise noted, the amounts presented in these notes relate only to our continuing operations.

Our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (U.S. 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 U.S. 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 2017 consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in our 2017 Annual Report on Form 10-K (our 10-K).

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. 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, certain components of revenue, 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 March 31, 2018.

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