The European division of media company Liberty Global has posted an 18.1-per-cent increase in operating income to $2.482bn (€2.33bn) on the back of a 24.5-per-cent rise in subscribers to 946,100 in the 2016 financial year.
Liberty chief executive Mike Fries hailed “solid results across our European operations, including Virgin Media,” with the company reporting a 2.5-per-cent rise in revenue to $17.285bn.
Liberty added that there had been a “turnaround” in the Netherlands, with 51,000 subscribers added in the fourth quarter of 2016, driven by “product investments” in platforms such as Ziggo Sport.
In November Liberty agreed to form VodafoneZiggo, a new joint venture with telecommunications company Vodafone in the Netherlands.
Ziggo, formerly known as Sport1, is the largest pay-television service in the Netherlands and in November 2015 launched sports channel Ziggo Sport, which shows coverage of various properties, such as the Formula One motor-racing world championship.