Synopsis

A legendary media pioneer tells his own incredible story—how he helped reinvent cable TV, launch high-speed internet, and shape the modern media landscape.John Malone remains a stranger to most people, though millions of us have been touched by the technologies and content he made possible. In Born to Be Wired, this “Cable Cowboy” shares stories of the people behind the most transformative business deals in media, entertainment, and technology. He recounts the remarkable tale of how America was wired, and how a strand of copper evolved from a rural TV-antenna service into a broadband backbone for phone, internet, and streaming services, paving the way for tech giants like Amazon, Facebook, and Google.He gives an insider account of launching cable’s first TV networks, including Discovery, QVC, TBS, and Black Entertainment Television, and reveals his strategic thinking behind the largest media mergers of our time, such as Warner Bros. Discovery, and the global concert firm Live Nation Entertainment (Ticketmaster).On Wall Street, returns of Malone’s Liberty Media, which owns Formula One, are watched closely, and rival those of Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway, a friend and investor. Now he celebrates the titans he’s encountered along the way, including Rupert Murdoch of News Corp, Ted Turner of CNN, Barry Diller of IAC, Reed Hastings of Netflix, and Mark Zuckerberg of Meta. After a lifetime of media deals, he reveals the relationships that shaped him, the strategies that sustained him, and the challenges that will define the future of the industry.

About The Author

John C. Malone is chairman of Liberty Media Corp., Liberty Broadband Corp., and Liberty Global. He was chief executive officer of Tele-Communications Inc., the largest cable operator in the US, from 1973 to 1999, when its merger closed with AT&T Corp. He is a TV, internet, and digital pioneer widely recognized for his leadership role in media and telecommunications. A philanthropist in medicine and education, he is today one of the largest landowners in America, with most of it set aside for conservation. Malone is also an avid rancher, land manager, conservationist, and horse-trader. He graduated from Yale University with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and economics, and graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a master’s degree in industrial management and a PhD in operations research.