TED TURNER, the media icon who “revolutionized American cable television” with the creation of CNN, TBS and TNT, died on Wednesday at the age of 87, according to Daniel Arkin of NBCNEWS.com. Turner during his prime was “one of the kings of broadcasting, a brash but savvy visionary.” He was “one of the first media company owners to use satellite technology to broadcast his station to a national cable television viewing audience, widening his reach and boosting revenues.” That ultimately led to Turner Broadcasting System Inc. “establishing itself as one of the key enterprises of the cable television revolution.” Turner later “leveraged his media success in sports,” buying the Braves in 1976 and the Hawks in 1977. During that time he began “marketing the baseball franchise as ‘America’s Team’” and put Braves games on the TBS SuperStation, giving the club coast-to-coast visibility (NBCNEWS.com, 5/6). The Braves put out a statement that reads in part, “Ted’s visionary leadership and innovative approach to broadcast television transformed the Braves into ‘America’s Team.’ Under his stewardship, the ballclub experienced one of the greatest runs of sustained excellence in Major League Baseball history and brought a World Series championship to Atlanta in 1995” (Braves).
THE BRAVES’ NEW WORLD: Atlanta-based WABE-PBS’ Molly Samuel notes Turner initially bought the Braves “as a way to secure his rights to air the games on TBS.” However, he later “leaned into his ownership.” He and his marketing team “would come up with stunts” to gain publicity, including once pushing a baseball “around the bases with his nose.” Former Braves marketing exec BOB HOPE said of Turner, “He had his own uniform, his own locker. He’d take showers with the team. There was a lot of craziness involved. But he enjoyed it. He was there. He enjoyed the attention” (WABE.org, 5/6). WALL STREET JOURNAL’s Sharma & Steele note Turner during the 1977 season “put on a uniform and temporarily became the manager … until the league put a stop to it, citing rules against an owner taking the reins on the field” (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 5/6). During the early days of his ownership, he “helped open baseball’s free-agent price wars” by signing former MLBer ANDY MESSERSMITH after the 1975 season (AP, 5/6). Turner’s ownership ended in 1996 when Time Warner took over Turner Broadcasting, but the Braves in 1997 turned Atlanta’s Olympic Stadium “into a baseball stadium named after Turner himself.” The team would play at Turner Field from 1998-2016 (SAVANNAH MORNING NEWS, 5/6).
OTHER SPORTING ADVENTURES: In Atlanta, Kempner & Quinn notes Turner had a “passion” for competitive sailing and “raised his public profile by captaining his boat the Courageous to win the prestigious America’s Cup in 1977.” During that time, his “bigmouthed and sometimes drunken behavior grated on his old-moneyed hosts who ruled sailing competitions.” Turner later “created the Goodwill Games, an international sporting event,” following the U.S. boycotting the 1980 Moscow Games and the Soviet Union responding by boycotting the 1984 L.A. Games. The goal of the Goodwill Games was to “try to thaw relations between the Cold War foes” (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 5/6). In L.A., Matt Pearce notes Turner “revitalized professional wrestling” with World Championship Wrestling. He considered wrestling “part of his sports portfolio” and tried to pit WCW against former TKO Exec Chair VINCE MCMAHON’s then-called WWF (L.A. TIMES, 5/6).
