New York – Ted Turner, legendary media visionary, was honoured by the Digital Place-based Advertising Association (DPAA) at its 5th annual Digital Media Summit at the New York Hilton.

Turner was honoured for his pioneering role in helping to launch the digital place-based media industry. Under his aegis, Turner Private Networks in the early 1990’s was at the forefront of the launch of eight digital place-based networks: Checkout Channel, CNN Airport Network, CNN Accent Health, CNN College Television Network (now MTVU), Cafe USA, McDTV (with McDonald’s), Turner In-Flight and AutoZone Sports Network.

In accepting the honour, Turner said, “When I got into the industry decades ago, I knew I was taking a risk and certainly I didn’t know I’d achieve the success we did let alone be known as a visionary. I can’t believe how far the industry has come since those early days but I’m proud to have been a part of its beginning.”

Sue Danaher, President & CEO of the DPAA, said, “Ted Turner, of course, is widely recognised as one of the Founding Fathers of cable television. Lesser known is that he also is one of the Founding Fathers of the digital place-based industry, and we wanted to call attention to this important historical fact and thank Ted for his game-changing contributions.”

The Digital Media Summit examined critical topics related to digital place-based media, including contextual engagement and planning strategies, and feature case studies presented by leading national advertisers including Jack in the Box, Oppenheimer Funds, Hallmark and Fosters.