At the new television network where Conan O'Brien works, private jets are used like taxis, courtside seats and arena suites are openly traded -- yet it goes unnoticed outside of Atlanta.
“It’s not easy doing a late-night show on a channel with not a lot of money … so that’s why I left NBC,” O’Brien quipped in his debut monologue on the Turner Broadcasting System.
Indeed, the TV empire that Ted Turner built on a foundation of corporate frugality would not be recognizable to him today.
>> Handpicked executives, their families and a few clients are flown on a luxurious private airliner to the nation's capital for "Christmas in Washington" every year;
>> Private jets shuttle Turner brass around for meetings -- often just one at a time;
>> A private jet is provided for an out of town birthday party that Turner labeled a "business trip";
>> Choice seats are doled out for Hawks and Thrashers games at Atlanta’s Philips Arena;
>> A special security-bypass elevator is available at headquarters for select employees.
Just ask the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, whose luxurious team plane (owned by Mark Cuban and partners) was requisitioned by Turner honchos. They once chartered it to escort a throng of invited family, friends, and a few clients on an all-expense paid weekend to the nation’s capital for a holiday season perk known as “Christmas In Washington.”
For 12 years running -- including the upcoming Dec. 17 telecast -- TNT has televised the star-studded yuletide extravaganza, a must-attend event by Washington VIPs, sometimes including the sitting President and First Lady, and hosted this year by Ellen DeGeneres.
An Atlanta delegation will be air-lifted to the event this year, too.
A Turner spokeswoman explained to TheWrap that the charter is a cost-effective means of “hosting a family event for clients.” (It’s unclear whether Turner opted for the $12,000-an-hour Boeing 767 with 100 all-first-class leather seats, or the 63-seater Boeing 757 for slightly less.)
TheWrap piecemealed this picture of excess largely from former employees (“disgruntled” or grudge-holders, in Turner’s view), though the company itself contributed or corroborated details.
Some of the ex-hands spoke revealingly even in declining comment, saying, “I don’t want to say anything negative about the company.” Others simply noted that they hadn’t shared in perks.
In a statement to The Wrap, Turner said the company is "confident that our policies and practices meet the highest standard of business conduct and we deny any inappropriate or wasteful use of corporate resources.”
Turner’s corporate lifestyle may or may not be representative of a level that yet survives, or even flourishes, in corporate America during strained economic times. To be sure, the high-on-the-hog image long has been stereotypical of the entertainment industry.
What is striking about Turner is that it would even be considered for anyone’s list, given its origins in Ted Turner’s heritage of corporate frugality.
