Quarterly Financial Information (Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Millions |
3 Months Ended | 12 Months Ended | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dec. 31, 2019 |
Sep. 30, 2019 |
Jun. 30, 2019 |
Mar. 31, 2019 |
Dec. 31, 2018 |
Sep. 30, 2018 |
Jun. 30, 2018 |
Mar. 31, 2018 |
Dec. 31, 2019 |
Dec. 31, 2018 |
Dec. 31, 2017 |
|
| Quarterly Financial Data [Abstract] | |||||||||||
| Revenue | $ 2,982.2 | $ 2,840.9 | $ 2,850.4 | $ 2,868.0 | $ 2,949.1 | $ 2,929.7 | $ 3,015.6 | $ 3,063.5 | $ 11,541.5 | $ 11,957.9 | $ 11,276.4 |
| Operating income | 282.5 | 208.8 | 148.7 | 105.5 | 252.4 | 205.1 | 264.1 | 117.5 | 745.5 | 839.1 | 792.4 |
| Earnings (loss) from continuing operations | (1,349.7) | 587.2 | (339.6) | (306.9) | (313.9) | (399.4) | 669.0 | (1,367.2) | (1,409.0) | (1,411.5) | (2,350.0) |
| Net earnings (loss) | (1,345.1) | 12,885.1 | 82.5 | 15.7 | 52.2 | 1,025.9 | 950.5 | (1,178.6) | 11,638.2 | 850.0 | (2,720.6) |
| Net earnings (loss) from continuing operations attributable to Liberty Global shareholders | (1,391.1) | 550.0 | (369.1) | (315.6) | |||||||
| Net earnings (loss) attributable to Liberty Global shareholders | $ (1,386.5) | $ 12,847.9 | $ 53.0 | $ 7.0 | $ 25.1 | $ 974.1 | $ 912.6 | $ (1,186.5) | $ 11,521.4 | $ 725.3 | $ (2,778.1) |
| Basic and diluted earnings (loss) from continuing operations attributable to Liberty Global shareholders per share (note 3) (in dollars per share) | $ (2.20) | $ 0.77 | $ (0.50) | $ (0.43) | $ (0.45) | $ (0.57) | $ 0.80 | $ (1.70) | $ (2.16) | $ (1.97) | $ (2.86) |
| Basic earnings (loss) attributable to Liberty Global shareholders per share (in dollars per share) | (2.19) | 17.99 | 0.07 | 0.01 | 0.03 | 1.23 | 1.16 | (1.47) | |||
| Diluted earnings (loss) attributable to Liberty Global shareholders per share (in dollars per share) | $ (2.19) | $ 17.91 | $ 0.07 | $ 0.01 | $ 0.03 | $ 1.23 | $ 1.15 | $ (1.47) | |||