The extent of the media slowdown was highlighted on Thursday when Liberty Media, the US cable giant, announced a first half deficit of $4.6 billion. This compares with losses of $2.3 billion in the first six months of last year.
Last month Malone reneged on an offer to buy out bondholders at Telewest (see Liberty Backtracks On Telewest Bid) although Liberty still has a 25% share in the debt-laden company. Another cable subsidiary, the Dutch-based UPC has warned that it may file for bankruptcy after running up debts of more than E10 billion.