Ted Turner: Founder of CNN and Turner Broadcasting
Business Owner · Media & Entertainment
Ted Turner took over his father's billboard company in 1963 and built the Turner Broadcasting System, launching CNN in 1980 as the first 24-hour cable news channel. He gave $1 billion to create the United Nations Foundation.
About Ted Turner: Founder of CNN and Turner Broadcasting
Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III (November 19, 1938 to May 6, 2026) was an American businessman, television producer, media proprietor and philanthropist. He founded CNN, the first 24-hour cable news channel, and WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television. He also founded the networks TNT, TBS, The Cartoon Network and Turner Classic Movies, and acquired the wrestling company Jim Crockett Promotions, which became World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Turner began his media empire in March 1963 when he took over his father's billboard business, Turner Outdoor Advertising, then worth $1 million, after his father's suicide at the age of 53. His 1970 purchase of an Atlanta UHF station began the Turner Broadcasting System, and in 1980 he founded CNN. He owned the Atlanta Braves, who won the 1995 World Series, and launched the Goodwill Games. A passionate proponent of professional wrestling as a television product, he aired it on TBS from 1971 and in 1988 bought Jim Crockett Promotions and rebranded it WCW, which overtook the WWF in popularity during the mid-1990s "Monday Night War". As a philanthropist Turner gave $1 billion to create the United Nations Foundation and co-founded the Nuclear Threat Initiative in 2001 with Senator Sam Nunn. In 2020 Forbes gave him a perfect philanthropy score of 5, placing him among ten Forbes 400 members who had given away at least 20% of their fortunes. His controversial statements earned him the nicknames "The Mouth of the South" and "Captain Outrageous". Sources: English Wikipedia (Ted Turner, accessed September 2026).
Basic Information
Founder, CNN and Turner Broadcasting System (1938-2026)
Company Details
Turner Broadcasting System / CNN
Cable Television, News Media
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