Guest Super Pissed Smark Posted January 30, 2003 Report Posted January 30, 2003 Ted Turner stepped down from Vice-Chairman of AOL-TW today after they posted a $45 billion write-down and a record-setting $100 billion loss for last year. Anyone hoping for some real competition to put a little lead in Vince's pencil can pretty much give it up now that Ted's abandoned ship. We're stuck with WWE or econo-wrestling forever.
Guest Jobber of the Week Posted January 30, 2003 Report Posted January 30, 2003 The company was losing money and Turner was basically in a position of ineffectiveness. No reason to sit on the sinking ship when there's a lifeboat available. Ted's one of those guys with money flowing out of his ears. He can afford to get into the game again, although national networks are going for almost 5 billion these days! He's better off taking a regional network that finds itself in peril, taking it over, and expanding it with his influence.
Guest Super Pissed Smark Posted January 30, 2003 Report Posted January 30, 2003 It looks like he's throwing in the towel for good. He's already built a media empire once, why try it again? Plus, he must be getting on. Time to chill and smell the roses. Vince is holding all the cards now. We, and all his employees, are at his mercy.
Guest Jobber of the Week Posted January 30, 2003 Report Posted January 30, 2003 It looks like he's throwing in the towel for good. He's already built a media empire once, why try it again? Money & Fame makes people do weird things.
Guest teke184 Posted January 30, 2003 Report Posted January 30, 2003 While AOL-Time-Warner signed a No Compete clause in the WCW sale, I don't believe Billionaire Ted did. If he wants to buy a TV station and go back to his old business model of "wrestling is low cost and produces a lot of money", at least it'll put a fire under Vince's ass again to start competing and not playing Musical Hosses until everyone changes the channel.
Guest Super Pissed Smark Posted January 30, 2003 Report Posted January 30, 2003 Let's hope Ted'll be back, and hopefully he'll bring Bisch... er, Dust...um, Bill Wa-, well, let's hope he hires someone actually competent to run things this time. "Buff Bagwell has just finished another movie. Buff says he was happy with the film and will return it to Blockbuster on Saturday." - James Guttman: Insult to Injury 11/28/2002
Guest Downhome Posted January 30, 2003 Report Posted January 30, 2003 As explained to me, by two different people... Ted Turner resigned as Vice Chairman of AOL/TW but the reports say he is staying on the board of directors. He's a rich man with a lot of other interests, he doesn't need to have any responsibilities if he doesn't want them. But he is still on the board of directors and still the company's largest individual shareholder. It is like if Vince McMahon resigned as WWE's board chairman. He'd still have his power because he'd still be the largest individual shareholder. Whoever replaced him as chairman would have to answer to him. They couldn't do anything without his votes. Just as whoever replaces Ted Turner as vice chairman of AOL/TW will still have to answer to him, as long as he keeps his ownership stake in the company. Turner is the largest individual shareholder, but his percentage of the total stock isn't that large -- 3.6% the last time I looked. There are a couple of investment groups that own as much or more than he does. And Steve Case and John Malone own almost as much as Turner. ...take from that what you will, just thought I'd share it.
Guest HartFan86 Posted January 30, 2003 Report Posted January 30, 2003 http://www.msnbc.com/news/866051.asp?0cv=CB10 Not surprising to me...Turner has lost total control in that fucking disaster of a merger...it's about time he got out while the getting was still good enough, though he lost so much fucking money. And with Case leaving a few weeks ago, this company's future doesn't look that good at all.
Guest El Satanico Posted January 30, 2003 Report Posted January 30, 2003 Turner wouldn't need to own a channel to have a wrestling fed. He could just own it like Vince owns WWE. He could always join in a partnership with Rupert Murduch(Fox owner). Is it Vince or Ted that Rupert dislikes?
Guest Kahran Ramsus Posted January 30, 2003 Report Posted January 30, 2003 Turner wouldn't need to own a channel to have a wrestling fed. He could just own it like Vince owns WWE. Yeah, but he wouldn't get anyone to air it.
Guest teke184 Posted January 30, 2003 Report Posted January 30, 2003 Ted needs to own a channel to guarantee the damn thing gets aired on TV. Besides that, his deal with wrestling was partially that he was a fan, but even more of the fact that it was cheap entertainment that made big ratings.
Guest Tony149 Posted January 30, 2003 Report Posted January 30, 2003 He could always join in a partnership with Rupert Murduch(Fox owner). Is it Vince or Ted that Rupert dislikes? It's Ted.
Guest Jobber of the Week Posted January 30, 2003 Report Posted January 30, 2003 And with Case leaving a few weeks ago, this company's future doesn't look that good at all. And you can thank the Bush Administration for that. Well, specifically, one man in the Bush Administration...
Guest Mole Posted January 30, 2003 Report Posted January 30, 2003 Actually, I read recently that Ted is going to get control of all of the TV stations he used to own. He is interested in putting a wrestling show on one of the stations. So, yeah.
Guest The Mighty Damaramu Posted January 30, 2003 Report Posted January 30, 2003 I thought Ted was through with wrestling for good.....
Guest Tony149 Posted January 30, 2003 Report Posted January 30, 2003 Ted wasn't happy when Jamie Keller (who's running the Turner networks) dropped WCW, but he (Ted) couldn't do anything. A year or so ago, there were talks Ted wanted to buy 51% of XWF (Jimmy Hart's fed) but that didn't happen.
Guest Big McLargeHuge Posted January 30, 2003 Report Posted January 30, 2003 "Buff Bagwell has just finished another movie. Buff says he was happy with the film and will return it to Blockbuster on Saturday." - James Guttman: Insult to Injury 11/28/2002 LOL Oh, man that was great. Oh and great for Ted. Or too bad for Ted. Whatever. That Buff joke was gold.
Guest Justwitty Posted January 30, 2003 Report Posted January 30, 2003 Let's say Ted does retire from here though and doesn't pursue putting wrestling on to go against WWE. Any other ideas of other companies, millionaires or billionaires who could become the 00's version of Turner when it comes to competition for Vince?
Guest Jobber of the Week Posted January 30, 2003 Report Posted January 30, 2003 Only rich man crazy enough to do that off the top of my head would probably be Ross Perot. And despite being a hick in a tux, I think he considers himself too classy to get an interest in something like wrestling
Guest Just call me Dan Posted January 30, 2003 Report Posted January 30, 2003 He'd have to get a few HUGE names to jump over to get it off the ground, look at TNA....almost there, but not quite.
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