Film & TV4 min(s) read
Published 16:06 07 May 2026 GMT
Ted Turner recorded eerie send off that will only air when the world is ending
An old clip of news legend Ted Turner has resurfaced, but the public won't be seeing it for a very long time.
The younger generation may not be aware of the impact that Ted Turner had, beyond founding CNN back in June 1980.
Sadly, Turner passed away on Wednesday, May 6, and while there was no cause of death given, his official website stated that he died "after a long battle with Lewy body dementia", as per Sky News.
Turner had revealed he was diagnosed with the degenerative nerve disease back in September 2018, as it causes a mental decline with similar symptoms to Parkinson's Disease.
The 87-year-old was best known for pioneering the 24-hour news cycle, with CNN being the first of its kind, after growing frustrated with nightly newscasts going off before he finished work, around 8PM.
He would go on to sell the company and the rest of Turner Broadcasting System to Time Warner Inc. in 1996 for an eye-watering $7.3bn in stock.
But Turner isn't done leaving his mark on society, with his infamous "Doomsday video" still sitting in the archives.
What happens in Ted Turner's Doomsday video?
A resurfaced CNN clip featuring Turner has sent chills down the spines of the public, with many believing that an eerie prophecy might be unfolding.
The Turner Doomsday Video is a one-minute clip that was filmed before CNN was launched, and it was only meant to hit the air if human civilization collapsed.
Shot in the midst of the Cold War, it makes sense that tension was high among US citizens.
In the short clip, Turner promised that his news channel would continue to air until the end of times, promising: “Barring satellite problems, we won't be signing off until the world ends.
"We'll be on, and we will cover the end of the world, live, and that will be our last event.
"We'll play the National Anthem only one time, on the first of June [the day CNN launched], and when the end of the world comes, we'll play 'Nearer My God To Thee' before we sign off,” he claimed.
The chilling footage, which was filmed outside CNN's original headquarters in Atlanta, left many feeling uneasy.
Turner isn't alone, as musicians from the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine bands can be seen standing in formation while dressed in full ceremonial uniforms.
Chillingly, the clip doesn't feature any narration or attempt to explain what is being broadcast.
But the CNN founder notes in the video that the band plays the Christian hymn, Nearer, My God, to Thee.
Best known for its link to the final moments of the doomed Titanic, it contributes to the uneasy feeling behind the clip, which fades to black after just over a minute, marking the end of the broadcast and the world.
Why are people feeling uneasy?
As the CNN founder spoke of the "end of the world" in the clip, filmed in 1980, many believed that it wasn't real.
But the reality is that it stayed in the CNN archive for years before it was uploaded online for the public to see for themselves.
Its purpose is not out of date, with global political unrest making this video's significance more relevant than ever.
Many ridiculed the idea of 24-hour news in 1980, but the clip was a marker that Turner put down, promising to keep broadcasting until the bitter end.
A worrying number of people believe that the world may be ending sooner rather than later, if a March 2026 study is to be believed.
Published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, it found that one in three Americans believes the world will end within their lifetime.
Probable causes cited include nuclear war and climate change.