Turner is selling its stake in the Omni Hotel, which is part of the CNN Center in downtown Atlanta, TVNewser has learned.
“Following a recent review of our real estate, it was determined that our 50% ownership stake in the Omni Hotel at the CNN Center does not support our core business and brands,” writes Turner CFO Pascal Desroches in a note to employees. “We have therefore begun a process to sell our interest in the hotel. Proceeds from the sale of the hotel will be reinvested in the businesses and support our collective global leadership position.”
Desroches says the sale is part of an overall evaluation of the company’s footprint in Atlanta, but says Turner is committed to to the city “and our operations and employees based here.” The complex opened in 1976, and CNN moved in in 1987.
CNN’s entire weekday programming day, from 4am-11pmET, originates from either New York or Washington, DC. Several dayside programs keep production staffs at CNN Center in Atlanta. Two of the remaining Atlanta-based anchors, Brooke Baldwin and Carol Costello, moved to New York in 2014. Most of HLN programming originates from Atlanta.
“We want to make sure that our physical environment satisfies the demands of our dynamic businesses and enables our employees to do their best work in modern, efficient spaces,” Desroches writes.
Last week Turner CEO John Martin announced the company is launching a project called Reimagine Techwood, which would modernize the Atlanta campus where Ted Turner launched Superstation TBS, the company that would become Turner.
