Jamie Kellner dead, Turner Broadcasting executive who canceled WCW in 2000 dies at 77

The wrestling world is currently once again considering the question “Who killed WCW?” in Vice and while a number of theories are floating around about the promotion’s misfortune, the man who decided to drop WCW’s programming at Turner Networks was Jamie Kellner. According to Variety, Kellner, the television giant who helped found The Fox Network, created The WB and briefly succeeded Ted Turner as chairman and CEO of Turner Broadcasting, died on Friday at the age of 77.

Advertising

After starting out in television at CBS, Kellner was named founding chairman of The Fox Network in 1986. During that time, he greenlit shows such as “The Simpsons,” “Married with Children” and “COPS,” a program that held the network together until it reached an agreement with the NFL in 1994. After leaving Fox in 1993, Kellner helped found The WB, which aired “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Gilmore Girls,” “Charmed,” “Dawson’s Creek” and other shows during his tenure. Kellner was also responsible for the first syndication deal for the popular “Saturday Night Live.” The WB eventually merged with UPN to form The CW, the future home of “WWE NXT.”

Kellner joined Turner Broadcasting in 2000 and succeeded Ted Turner as the company’s chairman and CEO in March 2001. In March of that year, Kellner also decided to remove all WCW programming from Turner Networks. Kellner did not participate in the recent Vice documentary, but according to the book NITRO: The Incredible Rise and Inevitable Collapse of Ted Turner’s WCW by Guy Evans, Kellner’s decision to drop WCW was motivated by Fusient Media Venture, which at the time wanted to buy WCW but also wanted control of the time slots on Turner’s TBS and TNT networks.

Advertising

He later retired from Turner and never returned to television as an executive. However, he joined other Fox executives in petitioning the FCC to revoke the broadcast license of a Philadelphia Fox affiliate because of its commitment to serving as a sounding board for election-rigging conspiracies. He is survived by his wife, two children and three grandchildren.