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Basis of Presentation | 3 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2021
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 broadband internet, video, fixed-line telephony and mobile communications services to residential customers and businesses in Europe. Our operations comprise businesses that provide residential and business-to-business (B2B) communications services in (i) the United Kingdom (U.K.) through Virgin Media Inc. (Virgin Media), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Liberty Global, (ii) Ireland through Newco Holdco 6 Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Liberty Global, (iii) Belgium through Telenet Group Holding N.V. (Telenet), a 60.7%-owned subsidiary of Liberty Global, and (iv) Switzerland, Poland and Slovakia through various wholly-owned subsidiaries that we collectively refer to as “UPC Holding.” In addition, we own a 50% noncontrolling interest in a 50:50 joint venture between Vodafone Group plc (Vodafone) and Liberty Global (the VodafoneZiggo JV), which provides residential and B2B communication services in the Netherlands. Effective May 7, 2020, in connection with the pending formation of the U.K. JV (as defined in note 4), we began accounting for the U.K. JV Entities (as defined in note 4) as held for sale. Accordingly, the assets and liabilities of the U.K. JV Entities are included in assets held for sale and liabilities associated with assets held for sale, respectively, on our March 31, 2021 condensed consolidated balance sheet. Consistent with the applicable guidance, we have not reflected similar reclassifications in our condensed consolidated statements of operations or cash flows. For additional information, see note 4. 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 2020 consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in our 2020 Annual Report on Form 10-K, as amended (our 10-K). 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, 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, lease terms, 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, 2021.

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