Charles Dolan, a pioneer of the cable-television industry who launched Home Box Office and AMC Networks, has died at age 98.
The Wall Street Journal reports Dolan was the founder of Cablevision Systems, which over four decades grew into a leading pay-TV operator in the New York metropolitan area. Over the course of his career, his holdings in media included AMC Networks, whose namesake channel aired “Mad Men” and “Breaking Bad”; Madison Square Garden Co., including the famous venue and ownership of the New York Knicks and New York Rangers; Radio City Music Hall; and the newspaper Newsday.
He “passed away peacefully from natural causes, surrounded by his loved ones,” a family spokeswoman said. “Remembered as both a trailblazer in the television industry and a devoted family man, his legacy will live on.”
Dolan, who was known as Chuck, often took a contrarian path compared with cable-industry peers and didn’t shy away from a fight. He was one of the first industry executives to argue that consumers should be able to buy cable channels a la carte instead of being forced to buy large bundles, an idea that is still resisted by entertainment giants. He took on major media companies in a landmark legal battle that ultimately legalized the cloud-based digital video recorder, an innovation now used by a host of online TV services.
Cablevision in recent years sold or spun off its media investments, including MSG, AMC and Clearview Cinemas, as the operator refocused on its core cable business.
Dolan for years toyed with the idea of selling the cable business itself, including to the neighboring New York operator Time Warner Cable. But he always stepped back from such a move.
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