Ted Turner, the media mogul who owned the Atlanta Braves for decades and used his cable empire to boost the team’s visibility throughout North America, has died at the age of 87, a family spokesperson said Wednesday.

The creator of CNN and eventual founder of TBS and TNT, which became must-have channels for sports fans, Turner purchased the Braves in 1976 and presided over the team during its 1995 World Series championship and 1996 construction of Turner Field, which was also an important venue during the Atlanta Olympics.

“Our good friend and former owner, Ted Turner, was one of a kind — a brilliant businessman, consummate showman and passionate fan of his beloved Braves,” the franchise said in a statement Wednesday.

“We will miss you, Ted. You helped make us who we are today, and the Atlanta Braves are forever grateful for the impact you made on our organization and in our community.”

Turner’s legacy as a sports media visionary began in the late 1970s, when he recognized the power of satellite technology. He dubbed the Braves “America’s Team,” a comical concept for a franchise in the midst of a lackluster era.

In 1981, after Turner fired manager Bobby Cox, he was asked who was on the shortlist to replace him and famously replied, “It would be Bobby Cox if I hadn’t just fired him. We need someone like him around here.”

Turner brought Cox back in 1986, and the pair took a regional team and made it national, building a perennial contender behind stars like Greg Maddux, John Smoltz and Tom Glavine. Suddenly, the moniker “America’s Team” no longer seemed like a punchline.

“Ted Turner was a visionary whose impact on the media landscape transformed how fans experience sports,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “A dedicated philanthropist, he championed countless charitable causes while leading with a style uniquely his own. Through his leadership, the Atlanta Braves reached millions of households nationwide on TBS, helping build a legacy of sustained excellence that included the franchise’s first championship in Atlanta with the 1995 Braves.

“We are grateful for Ted’s pivotal role in expanding the reach of the Braves and elevating our National Pastime. On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my deepest condolences to Ted’s family and his colleagues with the Braves.”

As an innovator, Turner changed the broadcasting landscape in 1976 by beaming Atlanta’s Channel 17 signal to a satellite and creating the first channel that could reach viewers across the country.

As a fearlessly creative promoter, he famously once changed the name on Braves pitcher Andy Messersmith’s No. 17 jersey to “CHANNEL” to promote the TV station. The gimmick lasted just one game and quickly irked his fellow owners and league officials.

In 1977, one day after MLB commissioner Bowie Kuhn banned Turner for one season, Turner purchased the Atlanta Hawks and subsequently hired Hubie Brown as coach. Turner owned the team until 2001, and a commemorative banner in his honor hangs in the rafters of State Farm Arena.

Turner was also behind the inception of the Atlanta Thrashers in 1999, which were founded through TBS. He sold the team in 2004, and it was later moved to Winnipeg.

Years before his professional sports involvement, Turner was a competitive sailor, participating in the 1964 Olympic Trials. He later won the 1977 America’s Cup while skippering the yacht Courageous, a vessel he purchased from Ted Hood after losing to him in 1974.

A display honors Ted Turner’s sailing accomplishments at the National Sailing Hall of Fame in Newport, R.I. (David DelPoio / Providence Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

Turner’s sailing feats landed him on the cover of Sports Illustrated in July 1977. He was later inducted into both the America’s Cup Hall of Fame (1993) and the National Sailing Hall of Fame (2011).

Turner is most famous for inventing CNN, the 24-hour news channel which also had an 11 p.m. show called “Sports Tonight” featuring Fred Hickman and Nick Charles. At the time, the duo created real competition for ESPN’s budding “SportsCenter.”

In the realm of professional wrestling, Turner’s building of World Championship Wrestling created the most serious competition Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Federation ever faced. Turner’s company famously crossed sports in 1998 and featured Karl Malone and Dennis Rodman competing in WCW one month after the two clashed in the NBA Finals between the Utah Jazz and Chicago Bulls.

In 1987, Turner’s TNT shared the first cable NFL game package with ESPN. It began airing NBA games in 1989, a relationship that lasted until this season and was spearheaded by its acclaimed “Inside the NBA” studio show.

Turner’s Goodwill Games, while a big financial loser, demonstrated how networks could develop their own competitions, the made-for-TV event. Ultimately, he was a force who implemented change and forced others to react in sports media.