Ted Turner didn't just watch sports—he rewrote the playbook for how we experience them. Long before streaming giants built billion-dollar empires around live games, Turner had a hunch that the real power of sports wasn't just in the action on the field, but in how far that action could travel.

When Turner passed away on May 6 at age 87 from complications of Lewy body dementia, he left behind a legacy that transformed the Atlanta Braves from a local favorite into a national powerhouse. By using satellite technology and his TBS superstation, he turned a regional baseball broadcast into the blueprint for modern sports media. Suddenly, a team from Georgia could be watched in living rooms from coast to coast—a concept that seems obvious now, but was revolutionary then.

"Ted Turner was a bold man, entrepreneur, and philanthropist," Georgia Governor Brian Kemp shared on X. "Even those who at times strongly disagreed with him respected him. That legacy continues to impact us today."

But Turner was more than just a network executive. He owned multiple major league franchises, managed some of Hollywood's most valuable media properties, and even captained an America's Cup sailing team. His early vision for sports television fundamentally changed how content is distributed, monetized, and consumed—from direct-to-consumer streaming to the global fandom we see today.

Before Turner, sports coverage was largely regional. Television rights were geographically restricted, and most fans only knew the teams in their backyard. Turner flipped that model on its head, recognizing that live sports could be the foundation of a national television network. It was a catalyst for an evolution where local teams could become national brands and live games could populate their own dedicated ecosystem.

While Turner often called CNN—the 24-hour news network he launched in 1980—his "greatest achievement," his impact on sports television was equally transformative. He understood that distribution was the real game-changer, and his legacy lives on every time a fan tunes into a game from halfway across the country.