John Malone, chairman and controlling shareholder of Liberty Media, has raised the prospect of splitting the US cable and media investment group in two in a "simplification" plan.

The move follows Liberty Media's decision last autumn to increase its voting stake in News Corp, the global media group led by Rupert Murdoch, to 18 per cent. A split could separate Liberty's cable television assets such as QVC, Starz Encore and a near 50 per cent stake in the Discovery network into a new business, which might also include some assets from News Corp.