It will be business as usual for Liberty Global in the UK following the Brexit referendum vote.
Speaking in a keynote joint interview at Cable Congress, Mike Fries, the company’s president and CEO, added that although the company had not supported Brexit it would support the decision.
While nothing will change overnight, there could be disruptions to the economy and regulatory changes, as well as a recession.
The headline is the markets, which are reacting typically to a big change. However, markets will always be volatile and while there is a lot more to come Liberty are relaxed.
In earlier comments about Brexit, Manuel Kohnstamm, president Cable Europe, said that, “the drama following the UK vote will make it even more important to stay the course of innovation.
“Young people and the digital business will keep it together, despite what happens in politics”.
Speaking about other issues, Fries said that the cable industry is still thriving, with all the top US companies adding subs in Q1.
TV remains a powerful product and is also evolving. Now, for instance, video only accounts for 35% of Liberty’s revenues.
Meanwhile, the other keynote interviewee – Josh Sapan, president and CEO, AMC Networks – said that while radical changes are taking place in technology, there can be tremendous growth in what had existed previously.
Sapan also spoke about the importance of portability for AMC Networks.
In addition, he revealed that it spends billions on content – Fries, in comparison, said Liberty allocated $3 billion – a figure that is “substantial for a company like us”. It is now also able to produce for a global platform.
Interestingly, Sapan played down the importance of data and analytics, saying that he did not believe they were particularly helpful for AMC networks. Fries, on the other hand, spoke of it as an opportunity.
Sapan also revealed that AMC Networks is looking very carefully at VR.
In his view, it is intriguing and offers all kinds of opportunities for dramatisation.
