Industry Remembers Charles Dolan
As the news of industry legend Charles Dolan’s passing trickled out over the weekend, colleagues reflected on the man who built HBO, Cablevision and what’s now known as AMC Networks.
“For over 50 years, I had the privilege of knowing Chuck Dolan as a partner, vendor, co-director, investor, customer and friend. His brilliant entrepreneurship helped build the cable industry and led the creation of great businesses in sports, entertainment and media,” said Liberty Media Chairman John Malone. “The world needs more people like Chuck who are willing to take risks, to innovate and to do things in their own way – without concern for the way people think it should be done. A better human being does not exist, we will miss him.”
Quite appropriately, given its name, the first movie to debut on Home Box Office (HBO) was called “Sometimes a Great Notion.” In an oral history with the Annenberg School for Communication, Dolan said there was no deep meaning behind the movie’s selection, just relief that after many studio visits, Universal Pictures finally agreed to share some titles for the network. “We were just happy to have that wonderful movie with Paul Newman, never mind the title. We would have run it no matter what,” he said.
Time Inc. eventually bought all of HBO and now it’s part of Warner Bros. Discovery. “Charles Dolan was a visionary creative, an extraordinary business leader and a great friend whose creation of HBO forever changed the quality and prestige of storytelling on television,” David Zaslav, President and Chief Executive Officer of Warner Bros. Discovery, said in a statement. “His impact continues to be felt today at HBO, Warner Bros. Discovery and across our entire industry. He will be deeply missed. We send our condolences to the entire Dolan family.”
Not everything Dolan touched turned to gold. In 1992, his Cablevision teamed with NBC to launch a pay-per-view television package dubbed the “Olympics Triplecast.” The idea was for viewers to pay between $95-$170 to watch live Olympic events instead of waiting for a tape delay airing during primetime. It was a financial flop, though it was on the right track, given the success NBCUniversal would eventually have with Peacock’s live coverage of the Olympics. It certainly resonated with former CTAM CEO Char Beales. “We all know now that the Olympic Triplecast was ahead of its time and technology. But my elementary aged kids loved it so much that I sent a thank you letter to Chuck for the undertaking. He responded with a thank you letter saying he’d sent my note to the entire Triplecast team because they hadn’t received many compliments. Chuck said he still believed it was a solid idea. Chuck Dolan played the long game,” she told CFX.
Charter co-founder Jerry Kent remembers his days alongside Dolan as a fellow leader of one of the largest U.S. cable operators. “I have great memories of Chuck at NCTA and Cable Entrepreneurs Club meetings. He spoke quietly but had a commanding presence,” he said. “If you look up entrepreneur in the dictionary, it should have a picture of Chuck. Great instincts, willing to take risks, and he was always a step ahead in our industry. He really shaped the cable business.”
Comcast CEO Brian Roberts praised Dolan as an industry trailblazer who helped shape cable alongside his own father, the late Ralph Roberts. “Chuck Dolan was in every sense a visionary and the industry would look nothing like it is today without his creativity, passion, and commitment,” Roberts said. “He was a unique and amazing gentleman. Chuck and my dad shared the wonderful journey that has been the cable industry for six decades. He will be missed indeed.”
Tom Rutledge, Director Emeritus for Charter Communications, left Dolan’s Cablevision in 2011 to take the CEO role at Charter. “Working for the Charles F. Dolan and family business was the best experience one could hope for in a business life,” he said. “Chuck was a true creative and a fierce, fearless, entrepreneur wrapped in a polite and genial veneer. It was always pure excitement. Look at all the businesses he created, and he and his family built. He truly gave us all the modern world of entertainment and communication. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and all those whom he left a lasting impact.”
Through AMC Networks, initially a Cablevision subsidiary called Rainbow Media, Dolan sought to provide quality, diverse programming. Josh Sapan joined Rainbow in 1987 as president of AMC and Bravo. He led AMC Networks/Rainbow Media as CEO from 1995 through 2021, including during its spinoff from Cablevision. “There was no one in our business like Chuck,” he told CFX. “He had the inventiveness of Steve Jobs, the wisdom of Bill Gates, the wit of Mark Twain—and humility and generosity that knew no bounds.”