The media mogul who revolutionized the sector of stories broadcasting dies on the age of 87; The reason for dying was not revealed.
Posted on Could 6, 2026
Ted Turner, the daredevil athlete and businessman whose ambition and instincts led to a media empire that included the groundbreaking information community CNN, has died, CNN reported, citing a press launch from Turner Enterprises. He was 87 years outdated.
The reason for dying was not given on Wednesday.
In September 2018, Turner revealed that he had been recognized with Lewy physique dementia, a neurodegenerative illness.
He turned a billionaire by the acquisition of his father’s billboard enterprise, shopping for a tv station within the Nineteen Seventies and investing it in what would turn into an enormous and pioneering tv conglomerate.
Turner turned one of the crucial highly effective figures in US media and leisure, together with his networks specializing in information, sports activities, reruns and outdated motion pictures. However he did not cease there. He added the MGM/UA movie studio to his portfolio earlier than making an excellent larger transfer — merging his Turner streaming system with Time Warner in 1996.
Turner headed the brand new firm’s cable networks division and was its majority shareholder, however he had problem adjusting to the corporate’s system after many years of freewheeling as his personal boss. He finally misplaced management of his networks.
He has made a reputation for himself by wonderful enterprise offers, his possession {of professional} sports activities golf equipment, his marriage to actress Jane Fonda, his management of a aggressive yacht group, and his dedication to charitable and environmental causes.
Born Robert Edward “Ted” Turner III in Cincinnati, Ohio, in November 1938, he attended a navy boarding college in Tennessee after which enrolled at Brown College, however was expelled earlier than commencement.
Turner took over a faltering household promoting firm after his father, despondent as a result of monetary issues, dedicated suicide.
The primary 24-hour cable information community
After buying quite a few radio stations, Turner’s buy of a struggling Atlanta station in 1970 marked his first foray into tv.
Ten years later, it turned the flagship program for his nationwide Turner Broadcasting System, which he used earnings from to launch CNN.
CNN launched in 1980 as the primary 24-hour cable information community, gaining traction in america and later internationally.
The launch got here as viewers had been shifting from broadcast to cable tv, and CNN turned a serious information supply in the course of the 1990-91 Gulf Struggle, offering intensive stay protection utilizing satellite tv for pc know-how.
CNN’s success impressed the creation of different 24-hour information channels, together with Fox Information created by Turner’s longtime rival Rupert Murdoch, MSNBC and numerous stations around the globe.
Turner’s tv empire has expanded past CNN to incorporate TBS and TNT sports activities and leisure, Turner Traditional Motion pictures, Cartoon Community, and others.
Turner offered the Hollywood group months later, retaining the rights to massive parts of its catalog together with movies from MGM.
