A news source states that Charles F. Dolan, who established some of the most well-known media corporations in the United States, such as Home Box Office Inc. and Cablevision Systems Corp., passed away at the age of 98.
His family confirmed in a statement released on Saturday that Dolan passed away naturally, as reported by the New York Times late on Saturday.
The statement read, “We heartily mourn the loss of our beloved father and patriarch, Charles Dolan, the visionary founder of HBO and Cablevision.”
As part of his legacy in cable broadcasting, Dolan founded Cablevision in 1973, launched Home Box Office (later renamed HBO) in 1972, and launched the American Movie Classics television network in 1984.
Additionally, he established News 12, the first 24-hour local news cable station in the United States, in New York City, according to Newsday.
After graduating from John Carroll University in the Cleveland suburbs, the Cleveland native sold Cablevision to Altice, a European cable and telecoms business, for $17.7 billion in June 2016.
According to Newsday, Dolan, whose main residence was in Cove Neck Village on Long Island, New York, also had majority shares in businesses that owned Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, the New York Knicks, and the New York Rangers.
One of his sons, James L. Dolan, served as Cablevision’s CEO from 1995 until the company was acquired by Altice in 2016. At Madison Square Garden Sports Corp., he now serves as the CEO and executive chairman. The MSG Sports website states that the corporation owns several properties, including the Knicks and Rangers franchises.
The sale also placed Altice in control of Newsday, which Cablevision had acquired in 2008. In July 2016, Patrick Dolan, another Charles Dolan son, headed a consortium that bought back 75% of the Newsday Media consortium. In 2018, Patrick Dolan went on to buy the remaining 25% of the business.
Forbes claimed that Charles Dolan and his family had a net worth of $5.4 billion at the time of his death.
Dolan founded and served as chairman emeritus of The Lustgarten Foundation, a pancreatic cancer research organisation located in Uniondale, New York.
Six children, 19 grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren survive him. According to Newsday, his wife, Helen Ann Dolan, passed away in 2023.
