Written from the verified transcript and checked against it. Every figure links to the moment it was said.
Ted Turner, former chairman of Turner Enterprises, discussed his role in founding CNN and Turner Classic Movies (TCM), rejecting the label 'maverick' and attributing his success to careful thought. He explained that he acquired old movies and cartoons like Looney Tunes cheaply because others undervalued them, and he believed 24-hour news and classic movie channels would work. Turner cited CNN and TCM as his smartest business decisions. The tribute highlighted his acquisition of MGM's film library in 1986, which included classics from MGM, RKO, and Warner Brothers, and his philanthropic focus on environmental conservation and human rights. Ben Mankiewicz noted that TCM's first film was Gone with the Wind on April 14, 1994, and that Turner died on May 6, 2026, at age 87.
Key takeaways
Turner said he knew 24-hour news and 24-hour classic movies would work because he thought things through carefully.
Turner acquired old movies and Looney Tunes cartoons cheaply because nobody else valued them at the time.
Turner cited CNN and Turner Classic Movies as his smartest business decisions.
Turner acquired MGM's film library in 1986, gaining classic films from MGM, RKO, and Warner Brothers.
Turner said people like old stuff, explaining the enduring popularity of classic films.
Good evening. I'm Ben Mankiewicz. Welcome to Turner Classic Movies. Before this network went on the air on April 14th, 1994, executives bandied about different ideas for what to call the channel. This process went on for months. Those execs planned focus groups to brainstorm suggestions. But then one day, they received a memo reading as follows, "The name of the new channel will be called Turner Classic Movies." The memo was signed R.E.T. Those initials stand for Robert Edward Turner the third, known to everybody as Ted Turner. Like everything in his expansive media empire, Ted Turner called the shots. But there was no tension about the name. Everybody agreed his name needed to be represented because the channel was the spawn of his foresight. Ted Turner died Wednesday at the age of 87. Tonight, we salute this larger-than-life figure, the man who transformed television from 24-hour cable news to sports superstations to, most significantly for us, saving, preserving, and showcasing classic movies. In December of 2018, Ted Turner returned to TCM's home in Atlanta, where I had the privilege of sitting down with him for a conversation about the considerable impact of his career. Getting that man to take a bow for starting CNN and TCM was not easy. A few months later, we honored Ted at the 10th TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood with a video tribute that also celebrated TCM's 25th anniversary. We have that salute to Ted Turner for you now, which includes my conversation with our maverick founder. Even though he refused to use that word about himself. I'm thinking real mavericks don't call themselves mavericks. Following the tribute, we'll present one of Ted's favorite films. It's also the first movie to ever air on TCM. Gone with the Wind. But first, let's take a look at the legacy making career of Robert Edward Turner.
Thanks for doing this. This is an honor to sit here with you. So, thank you.
No. I just thought a lot. I was smart enough to think a lot and think things through very carefully. I knew 24-hour news was going to work and I knew 24-hour classic movies was going to work.
A little bit. Not too much. When you had channel 17, the other local independent station went out of business. So, all of a sudden you could buy all these old movies and there was no competition for the movies.
Turner, T. (2026, May 25). TCM Comments Ted Turner Tribute/Gone With the Wind (1939) [Interview transcript]. TN25 Archive. CEOInterviews.AI. https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/982341/
MLA
Ted Turner. "TCM Comments Ted Turner Tribute/Gone With the Wind (1939)." TN25 Archive, 25 May. 2026. Transcript, CEOInterviews.AI, https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/982341/.
BibTeX
@misc{turner2026_982341,
author = {Ted Turner},
title = {TCM Comments Ted Turner Tribute/Gone With the Wind (1939)},
howpublished = {Interview transcript, TN25 Archive. CEOInterviews.AI},
year = {2026},
month = {may},
url = {https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/982341/},
note = {Speaker-attributed transcript with timestamps}
}
