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Turner retired Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://dailynews.yahoo.com/htx/nm/20011128/en/people-turner_1.html http://dailynews.yahoo.com/htx/nm/20011128/en/people-turner_1.html Wednesday November 28 8:39 PM ET Ted Turner said he was ``prematurely retired'' from AOL By Bob Tourtellotte ANAHEIM, Calif., (Reuters) - Outspoken media mogul Ted Turner returned to his old stomping grounds Wednesday with regrets about the big networks that got away, forecasts of mega-mergers to come and a few choice words for his old boss at AOL Time Warner Inc.. ``I never thought I'd get prematurely retired,'' said the executive who was replaced in January at the helm of his Turner Broadcasting companies which include the Cable News Network. Turner sold his company to what was then Time Warner Inc. in 1996, becoming vice chairman of the corporation, a major stockholder and retaining oversight for the Turner operations. In a management shuffle this past January, when AOL closed its $156 billion acquisition of Time Warner, Turner was replaced by AOL Time Warner President Bob Pittmen and he has since taken to his ranch in Montana. ``I'm hoping Gerry (AOL Time Warner Chief Gerald Levin) doesn't get control of that, so he doesn't fire me from that, too,'' Turner quipped. He was speaking to a luncheon of cable TV colleagues paying tribute to him here at The Western Show, which is one of the largest gatherings of cable TV executives each year. Turner said when he sold to Time Warner, he believed it was a good deal because he would get undervalued Time Warner stock which could be boosted with the addition of the Turner assets. Indeed, that scenario played out, and Turner said he was able to quadruple his investment in about two years. However, he said as part of the deal he gave ``veto power'' to Levin over any decision to acquire a TV broadcaster like CBS, NBC or ABC. When Levin vetoed a deal under which Time Warner would have acquired NBC, Turner said he was ``heartbroken.'' Turner called giving veto power to Levin ``the biggest mistake I ever made,'' but said his decision to do so was made near the end of negotiations when he was tired. ``When you are tired, you don't make the best decisions ... I knew we were selling out. I didn't know what the consequences would be. I never thought in my wildest dreams I would lose my job. I couldn't believe that, but it happened,'' he said. Turner said over the years he had been near deals to purchase all three major networks, but each one slipped out of his grasp. CBS is now owned by Viacom Inc. and ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co.. NBC is owned by General Electric Co.. His drive to own a network was spurred by a goal to be No. 1, with the broadest distribution possible and access to the greatest potential audience. By owning broad distribution, networks could negotiate for the best TV shows such as movie industry's Oscars or professional football's Super Bowl. In the currently consolidating cable TV business, Turner predicted within a year there may be only two major cable TV operators and one major satellite TV operator in the U.S. ``There's only four or five companies left, and I predict that within a year, there will only be two,'' he said. If AOL Time Warner is able to negotiate a deal with AT&T Broadband, for instance, Comcast Corp. and Cox Communications Inc. might feel the need to merge in order to compete, he said EchoStar Communications Corp. is in the process of acquiring DirecTV, a unit of Hughes Electronics Inc. Corp. , which would merge the only two major satellite operators in the U.S. Turner said he thought that an industry made of of only a few cable TV operators would reduce diversity in television. So what's a ``prematurely retired'' former cable TV executive to do with all that time on a Montana ranch? Turner said he is busy giving away money -- about $250 million last year. He is producing a movie, and he's working on plans to open a chain of restaurants called ``Ted's Montana Grill'' that will sell bison and other meat dishes. ``I got 32,000 bison,'' said Turner, ``and I'm trying to move some meat.'' Reuters/Variety REUTERS

100b losses { January 29 2003 } Accounting appropriate { July 18 2002 } Aol boss sold shares Aol discloses sec probe { July 25 2002 } Aol exec Aol hard to cancel { September 24 2003 } Aol losses 1m subscribers { June 4 2003 } Aol plans big cuts { January 10 2003 } Aol probe continues { March 29 2003 } Aol purchasepro fool investors { September 24 2003 } Aol subscribers down 846 000 { July 24 2003 } Aol time warner eliminate aol from name Aol tw blackhole { April 29 2002 } Aol tw sells 2bil Case quits { January 13 2003 } Crimimal probe { August 1 2002 } End of 2004 loses 646 thousand subscribers { December 7 2004 } Fbi continues aol probe Justice investigates aol Levin aol More sec probing { April 22 2003 } Oust case { September 17 2002 } Profits to plunge Steve case showdown { July 21 2002 } Time warner drops aol name { October 13 2003 } Turner fights case Turner levin aol { June 4 2002 } Turner retired Turner sold 5m { February 7 2003 } Turner take aol { September 18 2002 } Turner un { November 20 2001 } Unconventional { July 18 2002 } Wheres steve case { July 19 2002 } Wont rebound till 2004 { December 4 2002 } Files Listed: 34

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