n-tv began as a business development project at Time-Warner International which, under the leadership of then chairman Steve Ross, was looking for ways to grow its businesses internationally. Time-Warner at the time was a major shareholder in Turner Broadcasting, parent company of CNN (both now subsidiaries of Time-Warner) and began looking for ways to get into the news channel business internationally. In 1991, under the direction of Tom McGrath, the then-president of Time-Warner International Broadcasting, the company developed a strategy for Austria, Germany and the German-speaking territories of Switzerland.