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Charles Dolan, HBO and Cablevision Founder, Dies at 98

A sign is displayed at Cablevision headquarters in Bethpage, NY, on Sept. 17, 2015. (AP)
A sign is displayed at Cablevision headquarters in Bethpage, NY, on Sept. 17, 2015. (AP)
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Charles Dolan, HBO and Cablevision Founder, Dies at 98

A sign is displayed at Cablevision headquarters in Bethpage, NY, on Sept. 17, 2015. (AP)
A sign is displayed at Cablevision headquarters in Bethpage, NY, on Sept. 17, 2015. (AP)

Charles F. Dolan, who founded some of the most prominent US media companies including Home Box Office Inc. and Cablevision Systems Corp., has died at age 98, according to a news report.

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

"It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of our beloved father and patriarch, Charles Dolan, the visionary founder of HBO and Cablevision," the statement said.

Dolan's legacy in cable broadcasting includes the 1972 launch of Home Box Office, later known as HBO, and founding Cablevision in 1973 and the American Movie Classics television station in 1984. He also launched News 12 in New York City, the first 24-hour cable channel for local news in the US, Newsday reported.

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

Dolan, whose primary home was in Cove Neck Village on Long Island in New York, also held controlling stakes in companies that owned Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall and the New York Knicks and New York Rangers sports franchises, Newsday reported.

James L. Dolan, one of his sons, was the Cablevision CEO from 1995 until the 2016 sale to Altice. He now is the executive chairman and CEO of Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. The company owns the Knicks and Rangers, among other properties, according to the MSG Sports website.

A statement from MSG Entertainment, MSG Sports and Sphere Entertainment recalled Dolan's "vision."

"Mr. Dolan's vision built the foundation for the companies we are today, and as a member of our Boards he continued to help shape our future. The impact he made on the media, sports, and entertainment industries, including as the founder of Cablevision and HBO, is immeasurable," the statement said. "We do not expect this to directly or indirectly change ownership by the Dolan family."

Newsday, which Cablevision purchased in 2008, also came under the control of Altice with the sale. Patrick Dolan, another son of Charles Dolan, led a group that repurchased 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, Forbes reported.

Dolan was a founder and chairman emeritus of The Lustgarten Foundation in Uniondale, New York, which conducts pancreatic cancer research.

He is survived by six children, 19 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. His wife, Helen Ann Dolan, died in 2023, Newsday reported.

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Entertainment

Netflix Intensifies Bid for Warner Bros Making Its $72 Billion Offer All Cash

A Netflix sign is displayed atop a building in Los Angeles, on Dec. 18, 2025, with the Hollywood sign in the distance. (AP)
A Netflix sign is displayed atop a building in Los Angeles, on Dec. 18, 2025, with the Hollywood sign in the distance. (AP)
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Netflix Intensifies Bid for Warner Bros Making Its $72 Billion Offer All Cash

A Netflix sign is displayed atop a building in Los Angeles, on Dec. 18, 2025, with the Hollywood sign in the distance. (AP)
A Netflix sign is displayed atop a building in Los Angeles, on Dec. 18, 2025, with the Hollywood sign in the distance. (AP)

Netflix is now offering to buy Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming business in all cash — in an effort to win over the Hollywood giant's shareholders for its $72 billion merger and potentially thwart a hostile bid from Skydance-owned Paramount.

Back in December, Netflix struck a cash and stock deal with Warner valued at $27.75 per share, giving it a total enterprise value of $82.7 billion, including debt. But on Tuesday, the companies announced that they would be revising the transaction to simplify its structure, provide more certainty of value for Warner stockholders and speed up the path to a shareholder vote — which they said could arrive by April.

The all-cash transaction is still valued at $27.75 per Warner share. Warner stockholders will also receive the additional value of shares of Discovery Global, which would become a separate public company following a previously-announced separation from Warner Bros.

Warner leadership has repeatedly backed a merger with Netflix and the boards of both companies approved the all-cash deal announced Tuesday. In a statement, Warner CEO David Zaslav said the revised agreement “brings us even closer to combining two of the greatest storytelling companies in the world.”

A spokesperson for Paramount declined to comment when reached by The Associated Press on Tuesday. Unlike Netflix, Paramount wants to acquire Warner's entire company — including networks like CNN and Discovery — and went straight to shareholders with all cash, $77.9 billion offer last month.

Warner stockholders have until 5 p.m. ET Wednesday to tender their shares in support of Paramount's bid, which has an enterprise value of $108 billion including debt. But that deadline could be pushed back further. While Paramount declined to share further details on Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported last week that the company was planning another extension.

Beyond its tender offer, Paramount has promised a proxy fight. Last week, the company said it would nominate its own slate of directors before the Warner's next shareholder meeting, the date of which has still not been set.

Paramount also filed a suit in Delaware Chancery Court seeking to compel Warner Bros. to disclose to shareholders how it values its bid and the competing offer from Netflix. But a judge on Thursday denied Paramount's request to expedite that proceeding.

In a statement at the time, Warner applauded the court’s decision and called Paramount’s lawsuit “yet another unserious attempt to distract.” Paramount, meanwhile, maintained that the ruling wasn't about the merits of its allegations and said Warner shareholders “should ask why their Board is working so hard to hide this information.”

Regardless of who eventually wins the upper hand, a Warner Bros. Discovery sale could be a long, drawn-out process that is almost certain to attract tremendous antitrust scrutiny. On Tuesday, Netflix and Warner maintained that they expect to close on a merger 12 to 18 months from December's agreement.

Entertainment

New James Bond Actor Revealed ’Soon’, Frontrunners Emerge

Actor Callum Turner is believed to be leading the charge (Getty Images) 
Actor Callum Turner is believed to be leading the charge (Getty Images) 
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New James Bond Actor Revealed ’Soon’, Frontrunners Emerge

Actor Callum Turner is believed to be leading the charge (Getty Images) 
Actor Callum Turner is believed to be leading the charge (Getty Images) 

An industry insider has revealed when the next James Bond film could begin shooting with its all-new 007, according to METRO newspaper.

The search for the next Bond has been on since Daniel Craig’s version of the character was killed off in No Time To Die, rather definitively vacating the role.

Since then, the franchise has been acquired by Amazon MGM Studios, who have begun work on the secret agent’s next era.

This has included hiring Dune director Denis Villeneuve to helm the next instalment of the long-running series.

While we know that Villeneuve will direct a script by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, Amazon has yet to pick its next leading actor – although they have reportedly narrowed their search down to eight names.

Sharing his thoughts on when our new Bond could be revealed, senior Deadline film reporter Justin Kroll has hinted that the announcement everyone’s waiting for may be imminent.

Appearing on the My Mom’s Basement podcast, Kroll shared his prediction for when Villeneuve’s Bond might begin rolling.

“I am predicting summer, if I had to be a betting man,” Kroll said. “Because I think production will likely start [at the] end of this year/top of next.”

He continued: “Obviously, it could be a little sooner, but from everything people have said since I’ve been back, Bond is more likely middle of the year than first quarter.”

If true, this means that Bond fans could finally get some major news any day now.

This comes as producers have reportedly narrowed their search to include some of the hottest names in Hollywood right now.

Dua Lipa’s husband-to-be and Eternity actor Callum Turner is believed to be leading the charge – according to the star himself, if a source for the Daily Mail is to be believed.

Turner is confident that his license to kill is already in the post, with an insider sharing how he’d been ‘blabbing’ the news all over town.

“Callum is the new Bond; it’s been confirmed,” they said. “Everyone in his circle is talking about it. It’s the worst-kept secret going.”

They finished: “Dua is over the moon for Callum. She’s been saying she’d love to record the Bond theme.”

Entertainment

'Avatar: Fire and Ash' at Number One in N. America for 5th Straight Week

This image released by 20th Century Studios shows Neytiri, performed by Zoe Saldaña, left, and Jake Sully, performed by Sam Worthington, in a scene from "Avatar: Fire and Ash." (20th Century Studios via AP)
This image released by 20th Century Studios shows Neytiri, performed by Zoe Saldaña, left, and Jake Sully, performed by Sam Worthington, in a scene from "Avatar: Fire and Ash." (20th Century Studios via AP)
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'Avatar: Fire and Ash' at Number One in N. America for 5th Straight Week

This image released by 20th Century Studios shows Neytiri, performed by Zoe Saldaña, left, and Jake Sully, performed by Sam Worthington, in a scene from "Avatar: Fire and Ash." (20th Century Studios via AP)
This image released by 20th Century Studios shows Neytiri, performed by Zoe Saldaña, left, and Jake Sully, performed by Sam Worthington, in a scene from "Avatar: Fire and Ash." (20th Century Studios via AP)

"Avatar: Fire and Ash" showed no signs of slowing down, topping the North American box office for the fifth consecutive week over the long holiday weekend, industry estimates showed Sunday.

The third installment in director James Cameron's blockbuster fantasy series took in another $17.2 million from Friday to Monday, when Americans mark Martin Luther King Jr Day.

That put its US and Canadian haul at $367.4 million, and its worldwide total at more than $1.3 billion, according to Exhibitor Relations.

"Fire and Ash" stars Zoe Saldana as Na'vi warrior Neytiri and Sam Worthington as ex-Marine Jake Sully, who must battle a new foe threatening their family's life on the planet Pandora.

It is the fourth Cameron film to pass the $1 billion mark, along with the first two "Avatar" films and "Titanic."

Debuting in second place with a disappointing $15 million was "28 Years Later: The Bone Temple," the fourth installment in the zombie horror series, which comes less than a year after the last film.

"Returning after 7 months is quick -- it's too quick, and it's hurting the numbers," said analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research.

Disney's feel-good animated film "Zootopia 2" showed its staying power, moving up to third place at $12 million over the four-day weekend.

In fourth place at $10.2 million was "The Housemaid," an adaptation of Freida McFadden's best-selling novel about a young woman who is hired by a wealthy couple with dark secrets. Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried star in the Lionsgate release.

"Marty Supreme," starring Oscars frontrunner Timothee Chalamet as a conniving 1950s table tennis player with big dreams, finished in fifth place at $6.7 million.