Born to Be Wired

Lessons from a Lifetime Transforming Television, Wiring America for the Internet, and Growing Formula One, Discovery, Sirius XM, and the Atlanta Braves

By: John Malone

Narrated by: Fred Sanders

If you’ve ever streamed a show on HBO Max, seen a Formula One race, hummed a tune on SiriusXM, bought concert tickets via Ticketmaster, or watched an Atlanta Braves game, you’ve crossed paths with John Malone. You just didn’t know it.

John Malone remains a stranger to most people, though millions have been touched by the technologies and content he made possible.

In Born to Be Wired, this legendary “cable cowboy” shares stories from behind the scenes of the most transformative deals in media, entertainment, and technology. He recounts the extraordinary saga of how America was wired—how a single copper strand evolved from a rural TV-antenna service into a high-speed backbone powering the internet and clearing the path for Amazon, Facebook, and Google.

Malone offers an insider’s account of launching television’s first cable networks—including Discovery, TBS, QVC, and BET—and the strategy behind era-defining mergers, from Warner Bros. Discovery to Live Nation Entertainment. His Liberty Media ventures, including Formula One, have delivered long-term returns often compared to Berkshire Hathaway.

More than a business story, this is a personal reflection—from a quiet kid with a mechanic’s curiosity to a media visionary confronting the costs and consequences of disruption in an industry he helped reshape.

Trained at the storied Bell Labs and gifted with a mathematical mind, Malone saw patterns in complexity. Where others saw chaos, he saw systems—and reconfigured companies with the precision of an engineer, unlocking value no one else could see.

Sweeping, revealing, and deeply human, Born to Be Wired offers a rare glimpse into the logic—and the life—behind the screen.

Internet foundation deal making!

Great history and business book on the deals that built the foundation of today’s consumer internet

True liberty is having choices

I probably over-rated the book a bit given that Malone is one of my heros. But the memoir did hit my expectation and, given the expectation I held, I truly consider it a great book counting life stories. Maybe publisher can gather all public available interviews/writings/memos of people mentioned in the book to have a collection for people who’d like to explore more on the stories told here. For people who are interested in media and telecom industries, Liberty Media’s investor day videos/slides and David Faber’s past interviews with Malone are good start.

Amazing story

I loved hearing about John’s story and the evolution of his businesses. I was surprised how much I liked this book.

John Malone Unplugged

Mr. Malone brings you straight into the C-Suite on a 50+ year journey of the media industry. As someone who has worked in this industry during this time, it's a wonderful accounting of innovation, competition, money making and leadership. I also enjoyed getting to know the man - John Malone with his personal stories and deep thoughts. This is a must listen for anyone who was in the business and it's a valuable history lesson for future media leaders.

Great listen

Great business book. Pretty amazing career. Great listen if you are a business biography fan