Ted Turner and Rupert Murdoch have been rivals for decades, starting out with a boat race in 1983. The men faced off in the cable television industry over the years until Turner retired from the Time Warner board of directors in 2006. However, Turner hasn’t gotten over his rivalry with Murdoch just yet.
In an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Betty Liu on Tuesday, Turner had some strong words for his former media rival. He said that in the wake of the phone hacking scandal that plagued Murdoch’s News of the World in the United Kingdom, it might be time for aging mogul to go.
“I’m past retirement age now,” Turner said. “So, I’m 72. That’s a little late to be running a corporation. Murdoch’s still doing it at 80, but for not for much longer, I’m afraid. I think he’s going to have to step down.”
Turner added that Murdoch should be held accountable for the hacking scandal that has embroiled his media empire.
“He hadn’t survived anything like this,” Turner said. “This is serious … It’s going against the law. You know, not even Rupert Murdoch should be allowed to break the law. Nobody should – he should have known. I mean, he was chairman of the board. He’s responsible. I took responsibility when I ran my company.”
Over the years, Murdoch and Turner haven’t seen eye-to-eye on much. They were competitors for decades in the cable business and Turner admitted as much.
“I still have made amends,” Turner said. “I’m just, quite frankly, I’m very disappointed that this has occurred. A major media company should definitely be following the law, that’s all.”
Watch (Video courtesy of Bloomberg Television):