Charles Dolan, the visionary entrepreneur who revolutionized the television industry with Home Box Office (HBO) and Cablevision, has passed away at the age of 98.
- December 30, 2024
AceShowbiz - Charles Dolan, the founder of HBO, Cablevision Systems Corporation, and other media empires, died at the age of 98 on Saturday, December 28 from natural causes. His family released a statement expressing their deep sorrow at his passing, remembering him as a beloved father and patriarch.
Dolan's impact on television cannot be overstated. In the 1960s, he predicted that people would pay for premium channels via cable, installing them in buildings throughout New York with his company Sterling Manhattan Cable. In 1972, he founded HBO, a pay-TV channel that changed the way movies were consumed by offering unedited content without commercials.
In 1973, Dolan founded Cablevision, which became the fifth-largest cable provider in the United States. He later sold HBO to fund Cablevision, which he sold to Altice in 2016 for $17.7 billion. Dolan also launched News 12, the first 24-hour cable channel dedicated to local news in the United States.
Dolan and his family amassed a fortune of $5.4 billion, controlling stakes in AMC Networks, Madison Square Garden Entertainment, the New York Knicks, and the New York Rangers. His vision and innovation helped establish cable television as a dominant force in American entertainment.
Dolan's legacy extends to philanthropy as well. He was a founder and chairman emeritus of The Lustgarten Foundation, which conducts pancreatic cancer research. He is survived by six children, 19 grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. His wife Helen Ann Dolan passed away in 2023.
