Charles Dolan, founder of HBO and Cablevision, dies at 98 – NBC New York

According to press reports, Charles F. Dolan, founder of some of the most famous American media companies, including Home Box Office Inc. and Cablevision Systems Corp., died at age 98.

A statement released Saturday by his family said Dolan died of natural causes, Newsday reported late Saturday.

“It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of our beloved father and patriarch, Charles Dolan, the visionary founder of HBO and Cablevision,” the statement read.

Dolan’s credits in the cable television industry include the launch of Home Box Office in 1972, later known as HBO, the founding of Cablevision in 1973 and the American Movie Classics television station in 1984. He also launched News 12 in New York, the first 24-hour cable television network Newsday reported that it was a local news channel in the US.

The Cleveland native, who dropped out of John Carroll University in suburban Cleveland, completed the sale of Cablevision in June 2016 to Altice, a European telecommunications and cable company, for $17.7 billion.

Dolan, whose headquarters were in Cove Neck Village on Long Island, New York, also had controlling interests in companies that owned Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, the New York Knicks and the New York Rangers, Newsday reported.

James L. Dolan, one of his sons, was CEO of Cablevision from 1995 until its sale to Altice in 2016. He is currently executive chairman and CEO of Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. According to MSG Sports’ website, the company owns the Knicks and Rangers franchises, among others.

Newsday, which Cablevision acquired in 2008, also came under Altice’s control with the sale. Patrick Dolan, another son of Charles Dolan, led the group that purchased 75% of Newsday Media Group in July 2016. Patrick Dolan then purchased the remaining 25% stake in 2018.

At the time of his death, Charles Dolan and his family had a net worth of $5.4 billion, according to Forbes.

Dolan was founder and president emeritus of the Lustgarten Foundation in Uniondale, New York, which conducts pancreatic cancer research.

He left six children, 19 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. According to Newsday, his wife, Helen Ann Dolan, died in 2023.