CS Knowledge Base

The campus first started out as a club house for the Progressive Club, a Jewish social organization established in 1913. The organization would become one of the first Jewish organizations to openly express its heritage.^[1][2] The property would sit idle after the organization left the building until it was bought by Ted Turner in 1979 for $4.2 million.^[3]

On June 1, 1980, the complex became the headquarters for the newly launched 24-hour cable news network CNN which would go on the air at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time with an introduction by Turner Broadcasting owner Ted Turner.^[4][5]

Around this time, the complex would also be home to television tapings for Georgia Championship Wrestling's (GCW), Jim Crockett Promotions, and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from 1980 to 1989 which included Power Hour, World Championship Wrestling, Main Event, and Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling.

On July 14, 1984, Vince McMahon, owner of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) would take over the World Championship Wrestling program on Superstation WTBS. Unlike World Championship Wrestling, which had been taping its weekly show at the time from the complex, the WWF would instead replace the format with highlights from its syndicated shows as well as clips and matches from Madison Square Garden, Boston Garden, and other various arenas where the promotion promoted shows in. However, this was a direct violation of a promise that McMahon had made to provide original programming and tape programs at the Techwood studios.^[6] On March 2, 1985, the WWF would begin airing matches from the studio and would change the name of the program to WWF Georgia Championship Wrestling which was co-hosted by ring announcer Freddie Miller and Gorilla Monsoon. The program would also feature interviews with various wrestlers who would be on the inaugural WrestleMania.^[7] The WWF would end up selling the timeslot to Jim Crockett Promotions for $1 million a few weeks after the first taping at the complex with the final WWF Georgia Championship Wrestling episode airing on March 30, 1985.^[8] The first episode of JCP's World Championship Wrestling would air on April 6, 1985, with matches that were taped on March 30, 1985, under the branding of NWA World Championship Wrestling.^[9] Tapings would continue to be held at the WTBS studios until March 16, 1989, when WCW would move their tapings to Center Stage Theater on March 29, 1989.^[10][11]

In 1987, CNN would relocate from the campus to the CNN Center following a two-year renovation after Ted Turner had purchased the building in 1985.^[12]

The complex would also be where Inside the NBA on TNT would be broadcast from 1980 to 2025.^[13] The program is still broadcast from the complex under a sublicensing agreement with ESPN.^{[14][15][16][17]}

On December 2, 2019, the Techwood campus was renamed to the Ted Turner Campus and was dedicated to Ted Turner.^[18] Several WarnerMedia executives along with Ted Turner, CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer, CNN president Jeff Zucker, former Turner Broadcasting CEO Phil Kent, Headline News host Lynne Russell, CNN correspondent Chuck de Caro, and former People Now host Bill Tush were on hand for the dedication ceremony.^[19] In addition to the renaming, a mural featuring Ted Turner was also presented.

On June 29, 2020, WarnerMedia (later Warner Bros. Discovery) announced their plans to sell the CNN Center and continue to lease space in the building until expansion of the Techwood campus to accommodate CNN's operations were complete.^[20] On October 30, 2023, CNN would gradually move operations to the Ted Turner Campus including control room facilities and various shows.^[21] Several weekend shows would continue to be based at the CNN Center until February 25, 2024, when the remainder of CNN's operations would relocate to the Ted Turner Campus.^[22]

On June 27, 2024, the Ted Turner Campus would host Georgia's first United States presidential debate. The debate would feature no audience and would be the first debate of the 2024 United States presidential election between former President of the United States, Donald Trump and former Vice President of the United States Joe Biden and would be moderated by CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash.^[23][24][25]