Pioneer in Cable Television Started HBO, AMC Networks

Charles Dolan, a pioneer of the cable-television industry who launched Home Box Office and AMC networks, has died at age 98.

- SHALINI RAMACHANDRAN, Lillian Rizzo

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 news-paper Newsday.

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.

"If I had a nickel for every time we met with Chuck starting in the late '80s till the time I left in 2007, I could buy a lot of candy bars," said Richard Parsons, who oversaw Time Warner before it spun off Time Warner Cable. Parsons died last week.

Dolan ultimately did let go of his crown jewel in 2016, at the age of 89, when a rich offer came in from a newcomer: Altice, the European telecommunications group controlled by the French billionaire Patrick Drahi.

The offer allowed the Dolan family a path for a lucrative exit when it was getting increasingly difficult for Cablevision to grow in the saturated cable market.