Ted Turner, the outspoken television mogul and pioneer who created a media empire and transformed the news business by creating CNN and introducing the 24-hour cable news cycle, died Wednesday.
He was 87.
Turner died surrounded by his family, according to Turner Enterprises, the company that oversees his vast business interests and investments.
Turner’s signature achievement was creating CNN, the country’s first live, 24-hour news network.
He went on to launch CNN Headline News, CNN International, TNT, Cartoon Network and Turner Classic Movies.
President Trump, reacted to Turner’s death, called him “one of the Greats of All Time.”
“Ted Turner, one of the Greats of All Time, just died. He founded CNN, sold it, and was personally devastated by the Deal because the new ownership took CNN, his ‘baby,’ and destroyed it,” President Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“It became woke, and everything that he is not all about. Maybe the new buyers, wonderful people, will be able to bring it back to its former credibility and glory,” Trump continued. “Regardless, however, one of the Greats of Broadcast History, and a friend of mine. Whenever I needed him, he was there, always willing to fight for a good cause!”
President Donald J. Trump on the passing of Ted Turner: pic.twitter.com/OwIwl58CRT
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 6, 2026
“Ted was an intensely involved and committed leader, intrepid, fearless and always willing to back a hunch and trust his own judgment,” CNN CEO Mark Thompson said in a statement on Turner’s death.
“He was and always will be the presiding spirit of CNN,” Thompson added. “Ted is the giant on whose shoulders we stand, and we will all take a moment today to recognize him and his impact on our lives and the world.”
However, many don’t remember that Turner also changed the face of Major League Baseball and how Americans watch the sport to this day.
Turner, who was also an owner of the Atlanta Braves, the rise of the Braves’ national fan base, thanks to its presence on TBS.
In 1976, when the FCC began allowing the satellite feed to be transmitted to cable providers across the country, Turner successfully purchased the Braves.
A year later, he purchased the crosstown Atlanta Hawks NBA franchise. These purchases provided content for this satellite channel, which the world would come to know as SuperStation WTBS.
“I don’t want to see any more headlines calling Atlanta ‘Loserville USA,’” Turner said at a news conference announcing his purchase of the team.
“I want to see ‘Winnersville USA.’”
Thanks to his clever TV move, fans across the country were able to watch the Braves on a nightly basis on TBS and became one of baseball’s most successful teams in the 1990s, bringing home Atlanta’s first major league sports championship with their 1995 World Series title.
OutKick founder and contributor Clay Travis credited how Turner changed the way a generation watched baseball, in an era where MLB games are now hard to find on cable and satellite TV thanks to streaming services.
“Ted Turner was a business and media legend. The Braves with him in the 1990’s was a heck of a run and his decision to put the Braves on WTBS — at same time the Cubs were on WGN every day too — was the sports soundtrack of my generation’s life. RIP,” Travis wrote on X today.
Ted Turner was a business and media legend. The Braves with him in the 1990’s was a heck of a run and his decision to put the Braves on WTBS — at same time the Cubs were on WGN every day too — was the sports soundtrack of my generation’s life. RIP.
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) May 6, 2026
Turner is survived by five children, 14 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He was married three times, including to actress Jane Fonda, with whom he remained close even after their divorce in 2001.