Charles Dolan, a titan of the early cable industry who owned Cablevision, launched HBO and AMC Network and later branched out into iconic New York venues and sports teams, has died. He was 98.
Dolan’s death was reported Saturday by Newsday, the Long Island newspaper owned by the Dolan family.
Dolan’s influence in shaping the contemporary television business cannot be overstated. In 1961 he started wiring New York for cable with the launch of Manhattan Cable Television. A decade later, in 1971, he had the vision to launch Home Box Office as a service that would work with Hollywood studios to distribute movies. He was a trailblazer in tapping satellite technology to accelerate the distribution of cable programming across the country.
From 1973 to 1985, Dolan was founder and general partner of the cable company serving Long Island that became the Cablevision multi-system operator serving one of the most lucrative markets in the country. He was CEO of Cablevision from 1985 to 1995. Cablevision’s programming arm eventually transformed into AMC Networks, home to the channel that was founded as American Movie Classics. The company is now home to AMC Network, IFC, WeTV, SundanceTV, BBC America and cstreaming services such as AMC+ and Shudder.