Ted Turner, the media mogul whose cable television empire helped turn the Atlanta Braves into a national baseball brand, has died at age 87.
Turner Enterprises announced Turner’s death on Wednesday, May 6, according to CNN’s report. Turner was best known nationally as the founder of CNN, but in Atlanta sports history, his impact is inseparable from the Braves’ rise from regional franchise to “America’s Team.”
Turner purchased the Braves in 1976, the same year he launched TBS Superstation, according to his official biography. That combination changed the franchise’s reach. Braves games were no longer just local programming; they became a nightly cable fixture for fans far outside Georgia.
For Braves fans, Turner’s death is not just the death of a famous former owner. It is a reminder that the modern Braves brand — the national following, the 1990s dynasty visibility and the ballpark that carried his name — was shaped by a broadcaster who saw baseball as both a team and a television product.
Ted Turner Died at Age 87, Turner Enterprises Announced on May 6
Turner died Wednesday, May 6, at age 87, according to a Turner Enterprises news release cited by CNN. CNN chairman and CEO Mark Thompson called Turner “the presiding spirit of CNN” and said the network stood on his legacy.
Turner had revealed in 2018 that he had Lewy body dementia, a progressive brain disorder, according to CNN’s report. Additional details about his death were not immediately available in early reports.
In sports, Turner’s legacy stretched far beyond one purchase. The Braves became part of his broader media experiment. TBS carried games across the country, building a fan base in places with no natural Atlanta connection. The Society for American Baseball Research noted that Turner’s satellite television superstations made Braves fans across the United States and helped create a model for modern sports broadcasting.
That mattered long before the Braves became a powerhouse. Turner’s clubs endured plenty of losing seasons, but the broadcasts kept the team in front of viewers. When Atlanta finally surged in the 1990s, the Braves already had a national audience ready to watch Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Greg Maddux, Chipper Jones and Bobby Cox’s teams chase pennants.
The Braves won the 1995 World Series while Turner still owned the club. SABR notes Atlanta won division titles every season from 1991 through 1999, excluding the strike-shortened 1994 season, and captured the 1995 championship before later World Series losses to the New York Yankees in 1996 and 1999.
Turner’s name also remained physically attached to the franchise. After the 1996 Olympics, Atlanta’s Olympic Stadium was converted into Turner Field, which served as the Braves’ home through the 2016 season.
Ted Turner’s Net Worth Was $2.2 Billion And Spanned Multiple Industries
Turner’s net worth was estimated at $2.2 billion by Celebrity Net Worth in January 2026, while Forbes listed him on its 2026 Billionaires list.
His fortune came from a wide range of industries, but the foundation was media. Turner built Turner Broadcasting, founded CNN, created or helped develop major cable brands and used TBS to reshape how sports could be distributed. CNN’s report described his media empire as including “cable’s first superstation” and channels for movies and cartoons, along with sports properties such as the Braves.
Turner also became known for philanthropy, conservation and land ownership. CNN noted his role in founding the United Nations Foundation, his nuclear disarmament advocacy and his conservation work, including bison restoration efforts.
For Braves fans, though, the business lesson is more specific. Turner did not merely buy a team. He created a distribution engine around it. Decades before local sports networks, streaming packages and national baseball subscriptions became normal, Turner understood that owning games and owning the platform carrying those games could multiply a franchise’s reach.
Ted Turner and Jane Fonda
Turner’s personal life also drew public attention, including his marriage to actress and activist Jane Fonda.
Fonda and Turner married in December 1991 and divorced in 2001, according to CBS News. It was the third marriage for both.
Their relationship also had Atlanta ties. People reported in November 2025 that Fonda and Turner co-founded the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Power and Potential in 1995, and Fonda became emotional while crediting Turner’s support during the organization’s early years.
That chapter is part of the broader Turner story: media mogul, sports owner, philanthropist, Atlanta civic figure and celebrity presence. But his Braves legacy remains unusually concrete. He helped make the team visible everywhere, owned the club during its first World Series title after moving to Atlanta and left a name that became part of the city’s baseball geography.
For a generation of fans who found the Braves on cable night after night, Turner was not just the owner. He was the reason Atlanta baseball became national baseball.
Ted Turner Death: Mogul’s Career Had Deep Atlanta Braves Impact