Turner Takes On Hollywood

Spurned by CBS, the cable-TV pioneer adds MGM to his empire

Not for nothing did Ted Turner earn the nickname Captain Courageous in his sailing days. As skipper of the yacht Courageous, which won the 1977 America's Cup, he had a knack for snatching victory from sure defeat. In the equally competitive and treacherous world of business, the cable-TV king showed his spunk and resilience once again last week. Just as Turner admitted that his quixotic attempt to take over CBS had capsized, he announced two bold new ventures for the burgeoning Turner Broadcasting System (TBS). The Atlanta-based company (1984 revenues: $282 million) will buy the venerable MGM/UA company for $1.5 billion...

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