Charles Dolan, who helped pioneer pay television, is dead at 98, his family confirms. He founded HBO and Cablevision, among other ventures.

Charles Dolan, the pay-television pioneer who won the first cable-TV franchise in Manhattan, founded Home Box Office Inc. and later built Cablevision Systems Corp. into the fifth-largest U.S. cable company,

The Cablevision founder helped usher in a new era for television. He also acquired sports and entertainment properties including MSG and the New York Knicks.