NEW YORK, February 12, 2025—Simon & Schuster announced today that it will publish the memoir by business titan John Malone, 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. With this book 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. The book publishes on September 2, 2025.

Though millions of us have been touched by the technologies and content Malone made possible, this is the first time he tells his story in his own words. In Born to Be Wired, the “Cable Cowboy” shares the behind-the-scenes tales of the most transformative business deals in media, entertainment, and technology. He recounts the remarkable story of how America was wired, and how a simple strand of copper, initially used for rural TV-antenna service, evolved into a platform for streaming TV, broadband Internet and phone service, paving the way for tech giants such as Amazon, Facebook, and Google.

He gives an insider account of launching cable’s first 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).

The returns of his Liberty Media Corp., which owns Formula One, are closely tracked by Wall Street, and rival those of Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway, a friend and investor.  In Born to be Wired 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. A philanthropist in medicine and education, he is one of the largest landowners in America, with more than two million acres managed for sustainability and conservation.

“Over a lifetime of business deals, the most valuable currency has been relationships,” said Malone. “This book is about the people who changed my thinking, the hard-won lessons that nearly broke me, and strategies that helped me navigate chaos and carve my own path to success.”

Stephanie Frerich, Vice President, Executive Editor at Simon & Schuster, acquired World, Audio, and first serial rights from Robert B. Barnett of Williams & Connolly.  Mark Robichaux, author of Cable Cowboy,  assisted John Malone as editor.

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 U.S., 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. He is one of the largest individual landowners in the U.S., with most of it set aside for conservation. A large medical and educational philanthropist, 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.

Simon & Schuster, a global leader in general interest publishing, is dedicated to providing the best in fiction and nonfiction for readers of all ages, and in all printed, digital and audio formats. Its distinguished roster of authors includes many of the world’s most popular and widely recognized writers, and winners of the most prestigious literary honors and awards. It is home to numerous well-known imprints and divisions such as Simon & Schuster, Scribner, Atria Books, Gallery Books, Adams Media, Avid Reader Press, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing and Simon & Schuster Audio and international companies in Australia, Canada, India, the United Kingdom, and VBK in the Netherlands and Belgium. It proudly brings the works of its authors to readers in more than 200 countries and territories. For more information visit our website at www.simonandschuster.com. 

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Larry Hughes
Deputy Director of Publicity, Simon & Schuster
Larry.Hughes@simonandschuster.com