CNN/Money  
graphic
News > Companies
graphic
Turner: Block FCC rule changes
Largest AOL TW shareholder says rules to allow more media consolidation would be a bad thing.
May 30, 2003: 9:37 AM EDT

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Ted Turner, the largest individual shareholder of the nation's largest media conglomerate, opposes proposed changes in Federal Communications Commission rules on media ownership that are generally seen as benefiting big players.

Turner, a director of AOL Time Warner Inc. in which he holds more stock than any individual, wrote an opinion piece in Friday's Washington Post saying he would not have been able to start his own media empire in 1970 if the proposed rule changes had been in effect then.

"If a young media entrepreneur were trying to get started today under these proposed rules, he or she wouldn't be able to buy a UHF station, as I did. They're all bought up," he wrote.

The proposed rules allow networks to own stations that reach 45 percent of the nation's television audience, rather than the 35 percent allowed under current rules.

Turner said that even if a budding media baron was able to get a UHF station, he or she would be at a disadvantage because the programing and distribution needed for success would be controlled by the conglomerates.

"Today both (programming and distribution) are owned by conglomerates that keep the best for themselves and leave the worst for you -- if they sell anything to you at all. It's hard to compete when your suppliers are owned by your competitors," he said.

Related stories
graphic
Boon or bust for TV station owners?
FCC head defends consolidation plans
FCC vote may limit independent views

Turner said that he would have preferred to keep his media empire an independent company and not part of a larger conglomerate.

"We bought MGM, and we later sold Turner Broadcasting to Time Warner, because we had little choice. The big were getting bigger. The small were disappearing. We had to gain access to programming to survive," he wrote. "The climate after Monday's expected FCC decision will encourage even more consolidation and be even more inhospitable to smaller businesses."

Turner started Turner Broadcasting in 1970, and CNN in 1980. He sold his company to Time Warner in 1996. AOL Time Warner, which includes CNN/Money, was formed through a 2001 merger with Internet service provider America Online.

He said the opinion he was expressing was his own, not the opinion of AOL Time Warner.

He argued in his piece that large corporations are risk adverse and not interested in innovations, such as his creation of the first all-news cable network. And he said that more media consolidation would also stifle political debate in the country. He said that even if the FCC as expected passes the changes in rules that Congress should intervene to change them.

Turner has been a public critic of the company for several months and has recently sold more than half his holdings of AOL Time Warner stock.

Click here for a look at media and entertainment stocks

Shares of AOL Time Warner (AOL: Research, Estimates) lost 1 cent to $14.85 in trading Thursday.  Top of page




  More on NEWS
JPMorgan dramatically slashes Tesla's stock price forecast
Greece is finally done with its epic bailout binge
Europe is preparing another crackdown on Big Tech
  TODAY'S TOP STORIES
7 things to know before the bell
SoftBank and Toyota want driverless cars to change the world
Aston Martin falls 5% in its London IPO




graphic graphic

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.