The Maverick Who Changed TV: Ted Turner, Founder of Cartoon Network and TNT, Dies at 87

Ted Turner has died at 87. If you have ever turned on cable TV, you have felt his fingerprints all over it. The guy didn’t just make channels; he reshaped what TV looked like for decades and did it with the sort of swagger that actually moved mountains.

What he built (and how big it got)

• Founded and launched era-defining networks including CNN, TNT, and Cartoon Network, plus plenty more along the way.
• Built a media empire out of Atlanta, earning the early-career nickname the Mouth of the South.
• Bought the MLB team Atlanta Braves in 1976, then later sold the franchise to Time Warner.
• Eventually stepped back from the business to focus on his health.

Health and final years

Turner publicly shared in 2018, just ahead of his 80th birthday, that he had Lewy body dementia, a progressive brain disorder. In 2025, he was hospitalized with pneumonia. The man kept his empire in motion for a long time, then did what more moguls should probably do: he actually slowed down and put his health first.

How CNN is remembering him

CNN’s current chairman and CEO, Mark Thompson, summed up Turner’s impact with a statement that really lands:

"Ted was an intensely involved and committed leader, intrepid, fearless, and always willing to back a hunch and trust his own judgement. He was and always will be the presiding spirit of CNN. 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."

Turner leaves behind a legacy that is, frankly, massive. News as a 24/7 thing, the rise of basic-cable brands that actually mattered, the idea that Atlanta could be a media capital—he helped will all of that into existence. Condolences to his family and friends.