Creating an Entertainment Giant : TED’S MOMENT : Turner Plans Major Role at New Job

After years of being frustrated in his attempts to buy a broadcast network, Ted Turner joked Friday, “I wanted to see what it feels like to be big.”

CNN, the Cartoon Network and the rest of the multibillion-dollar Turner Broadcasting empire will become part of Time Warner under the merger agreement announced Friday.

But the 56-year-old Turner will become vice chairman of Time Warner as well as its largest individual shareholder, and the Turner companies will continue to report to him. “I don’t feel that I’ve sold my company--I feel that we’ve merged with Time Warner,” Turner said.

While Turner did not spell out his exact duties as vice chairman, he made clear that he intends to play a major role. “I’m very excited about the creative possibilities of combining these two companies,” Turner said. “And I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do.

“I’ve basically put my entire life savings into Time Warner,” said Turner, who will own $3 billion worth of Time Warner stock under the proposed deal, “and I’m looking for better-than-average returns, I can tell you.”

Executives at Turner Broadcasting System Inc. and Time Warner Inc. said in interviews Friday that they see several areas of synergy between the two companies. “There are three or four cable networks that could be developed” from the combined resources, said Turner Networks President Scott Sassa.

Turner is already developing a sports cable channel that now may use the resources of Sports Illustrated, a Time Warner publication. And the combination of the Warner Bros. movie library with Turner’s MGM library has great potential for programming, both internationally and domestically, Turner said.

Turner--who met with the managing editors of Time magazine and other Time Warner publications after the deal was announced--said he foresees other synergies between Time publishing and CNN.

CNN President Tom Johnson and other CNN executives have met recently with Norman Pearlstine, editor in chief of all Time publications, and other Time executives to discuss ways they can combine resources. Proposals could include shows tied to People magazine and other Time publications, the use of Time editorial resources on Turner’s planned financial news network and use of CNN footage on Time’s on-line services.

Turner executives have been assured by Time Warner Chairman Gerald Levin of the continued editorial independence of CNN, and Turner said he is not concerned about his company being “swallowed up” by Time Warner.

“That’s not what this deal is about,” he said.

The exact relationship between Levin and Turner remains to be seen. But executives at both companies said Turner enthusiastically pushed for the deal during five weeks of negotiations.

“Ted, who has his highs and lows, has been up about this deal since the day we started talking,” Levin said in an interview. “But throughout these negotiations, it was Ted who pushed to make it happen.”