Liberty Media, one of the world’s most influential media companies, took a leadership role closer to home Thursday by hosting a networking event for 100 technology-company executives, half of them from Colorado.
The main attraction was a freewheeling – and off-the- record – address by Liberty chairman John Malone, who spoke frankly about his investment strategies and a media landscape altered by the Internet and by Google in particular.
“You could listen to him all day because there’s no substitute for experience,” said Alan Warms, chief executive of Chicago-based Participate Media, who flew in for the event, titled the Liberty NetLeaders Forum.
The late-afternoon cocktail party was held at the headquarters of Liberty subsidiary Starz Entertainment, near E-470. It highlighted Liberty’s role as an investor in new ventures and gave Colorado tech entrepreneurs a chance to meet and mingle with each other – and with Liberty officials, including chief executive Gregory Maffei.
CEOs of Colorado companies attending included Jon Nordmark of eBags, Michael Gellman of SpireMedia, Kimbal Musk of Me.dium, J.B. Holston of NewsGator Technologies, Drew Massey of Mania TV and Luke Beatty of Associated Content.
“Part of the reason to do this is to show that tech is alive and well in Colorado,” said Su Hawk, president of the Colorado Software and Internet Association, who was on the advisory committee for the event.
It also indicates a new openness at Liberty, which has kept a relatively low profile over the years, even as it helped build cable programmers Discovery Communications and Black Entertainment Television, while acquiring stakes in media titans such as Time Warner and Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.
Liberty continues to negotiate for ownership of Time Warner’s Atlanta Braves and for News Corp.’s stake in DirecTV, Malone said when asked – before his remarks to the group – how those long- speculated deals were progressing.
It’s unclear what the next step will be for the Liberty NetLeaders Forum. Michael Zeisser, a senior vice president for Liberty Media, told the group that if it were helpful, Liberty would convene such events again in the future.
It seemed clear that such events could also be helpful to Liberty as it scans near and far for new investment opportunities, particularly those related to the Internet and e-commerce.
Liberty Interactive – which has a market capitalization of $15.5 billion and trades separately – owns home-shopping giant QVC, online game properties and a stake in Barry Diller’s IAC/Interactive Corp., which owns assets including Ticketmaster, LendingTree and Match.com.
Business editor Stephen Keating can be reached at skeating@denverpost.com or 303-954-1306.
