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CEO stands up to critics — and his dad
By Leslie Cauley, USA TODAY
NEW YORK — If you have a beef with Cablevision (CVC) CEO Jim Dolan, here's some advice: Take a number and get in line.
Cablevision CEO Jim Dolan says the decision to oppose his father on Voom was unavoidable.
By Todd Plitt, USA TODAY

At the moment, Dolan is warring with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, half a dozen real estate developers, the New York Jets, Time Warner and Cablevision Chairman Charles Dolan, who also happens to be his father. And the month isn't over yet.

Don't expect any apologies from Dolan for his combative style. Or for the blowup with his father. "As a CEO you're bound by your fiduciary duty to your shareholders," he says. "When it comes to issues of risk, you're required to be faithful to your shareholders."
James Dolan
Title: CEO.
Age: 49.
Education: Bachelor's degree, State University of New York, New Paltz.
Personal: Married, four sons; fifth on the way (a boy).
Hobbies: Lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, songwriter for JD and the Straight Shot.
Noteworthy: Band just released first CD, Nothing to Hide.
Motto: "Do not let the opposition define you."

Chuck Dolan, the company's founder and one of the pioneers of the cable industry, turned Cablevision into a formidable family-led regional empire. With 3 million customers in the New York area, Cablevision is the USA's seventh-largest cable operator. A programming subsidiary, Rainbow, owns American Movie Classics (AMC), Independent Film Channel (IFC) and sports channels MSG and Fox Sports Net New York. Cablevision also controls such fabled New York properties as Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, the Knicks and the Rangers.

The question now is whether the younger Dolan can, through grit and determination, transform it into a media power that reflects his vision. And will Chuck Dolan, still formidable at 78, let that happen?

Consider the recent blowup over his pet project, Voom, a money-losing satellite TV service. The elder Dolan became enraged when the board voted to shut down Voom. Invoking his special voting rights, he kicked off three board members and replaced them with a trio of trusted friends and business partners. (He also installed his son-in-law in a vacant board seat.)

The brawl ignited rumors that Chuck Dolan might use his sway to oust his son, who had voted to shut down Voom. Since then, the elder Dolan has left the impression he might seek to sell off the cable TV systems that form Cablevision's core.
'There are no grudges' in fight's aftermath
Though the knife fight with his father appears to be over, Cablevision CEO Jim Dolan says it may take awhile for those wounds to heal.

"Everybody is still a little sore," he says. "There are no grudges. But I think we're all a little surprised at how acrimonious things got. I know I was."

So just how close did he come to getting fired?

Cablevision Chairman Chuck Dolan says only that he would be "reluctant" to fire his son. Why? "He's a strong board member," he says matter-of-factly. And "I would miss him," he adds, sounding very much like the father he is.

Jim Dolan says keeping his job was never his top concern. "When that was going on, I came to the conclusion quickly that I could not worry about that stuff," he says. "I needed to feel good about the work that I was doing and the path that I was taking."

If he sounds like a man who's got his feet firmly planted on the ground, there's a good reason for that: He does. After 10 years in the CEO's chair, Jim Dolan is finally at peace with himself, and at peace with living in the shadow of his famous father.

A lot of that owes to the part of his life that most people never see. A doting father, Dolan has four sons. A fifth is on the way with his wife of three years, Kristin. He's also got music in his life. Literally. A devoted rock 'n' roller, Dolan and his band recently opened for the Marshall Tucker Band in New Jersey.

As big as his public persona has gotten these past few years, Dolan says he knows better than to confuse that with reality. "Balance is a big thing for me," he says. "Because it keeps you from getting too wrapped. My kids are a part of that, and my band is a part of that. And the slide in my backyard is a part of that. The company is a piece of it. But those other pieces do not rely on me being the CEO of Cablevision."

By Leslie Cauley

Last week, Jim Dolan sat down with USA TODAY to talk about the slugfest with his father — and about his battles with Time Warner and the city's political machine.

The Dolan style

One thing seems clear: Dolan is nobody's fool. He's keenly aware of all the whispering about him, especially that he is a weak version of his father. Dolan says he doesn't care.

What he cares about a lot, however, is Cablevision's share price. It's risen fivefold since the bleak summer of 2002.And while some may deride his style, Dolan says nobody should question his motivation: looking out for shareholders.

Dolan, 49, has been CEO for nearly 10 years. On his watch, Cablevision has moved aggressively to roll out digital services. Today, more than 50% of Cablevision homes get digital TV. The company rolled out an Internet phone product 18 months ago and serves 350,000 customers. Its high-speed product, called Optimum Online, has 1.4 million customers.

In the negative column: buying The Wiz, a consumer electronics chain. The Wiz wound up losing $400 million. Cablevision exited the business in early 2003.

Another hitch was its much-lauded set-top deal with Sony. The deal, announced in 2000, called for Cablevision to buy $1 billion worth of advanced digital cable TV boxes from Sony. The deal unraveled amid finger-pointing by both sides.

The most visible changes, however, happened early in Dolan's tenure. In 1997, Cablevision acquired ITT's controlling stake in Madison Square Garden. The deal included the Knicks and Rangers. It also bought Radio City Productions and got a 25-year lease on Radio City Music Hall. The twin deals thrust Cablevision into the national spotlight.

Many people are quick to credit Chuck Dolan with the strategic shift. The younger Dolan shrugs at that. He's heard it all before. "My dad gave me the reins of the company quite a long time ago," he says. "It's not like my dad hasn't been involved, but he really did let me do the job of CEO. People just don't see it."

But they have certainly felt his heat and, at times, his wrath. Ask the Bloomberg administration. After the mayor announced plans last yearto build a government-subsidized stadium for the Jets just three blocks from Madison Square Garden, Dolan ran a series of withering attack ads against the project.

"The stadium is lethal for the Garden's business," Dolan says.

The city planned to throw in taxpayer-supported subsidies for the Jets project. As a result, Dolan says, the stadium's owners could offer cut-rate prices to concert and sports promoters in direct competition with the Garden.

The latest: Cablevision has submitted a proposal to buy the site from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for $760 million. The Jets offered $720 million. A final decision is expected shortly.

Money is also at the heart of the Time Warner spat. Rainbow wants to hold the line on fees it charges Time Warner for carrying MSG and Fox Sports Net New York. But Time Warner wants them lowered, arguing that the high cost of sports programming is hurting fans. Unmoved, Dolan has refused to extend Time Warner's contracts unless it renews at the old rates. So, for now, the channels are blacked out.

Family feud

Dolan's most startling fight, though, is the one with his father. By defying him in such a public way, Dolan showed that he isn't just Chuck Dolan's faithful son. He's also Cablevision's iron-fisted CEO.

Harvey Weinstein, co-chairman of Miramax, says he wasn't surprised by his friend's confrontational stance. "Jim stuck up for what he thought was right," he says. "That's the price you pay for being the CEO."

The man himself is more humble, especially when the subject turns to his father. "This is his company," Jim Dolan says almost reverently. "He's a hero. He has guts."

So does Jim, apparently.

In a stunning show of independence, Dolan broke ranks with his father over Voom in December. The service, launched in 2003, had burned through $600 million with just 26,000 customers to show for it. In January, the board voted to sell the satellite and gave the elder Dolan until the end of February to buy Voom's remaining assets.

Dolan says his decision to defy his father, though painful, was unavoidable. In the post-WorldCom world, he notes, companies can't take the same sorts of risks they used to, and certainly not as much as his "entrepreneurial father wanted to risk" on Voom.

"That's hard," Dolan says, "because you have to remember: My entrepreneurial father, by taking those same kinds of risks, built HBO, built Cablevision, built Rainbow. The list is as long as your arm."

But Cablevision is a public company. "I have to follow the responsibility of the job that I'm in, which says you don't bet the farm."

Chuck Dolan, in an interview, said he has accepted the fact that Voom won't be part of the Cablevision family. But that doesn't mean it won't be part of his life.

"As a Cablevision guy, I'm ready pretty much to let it go because ... the board really doesn't want to continue with it," the elder Dolan says. "I do think it continues to have potential, and although I couldn't agree more with everybody that it is high risk, it's a risk that I'm personally willing to assume."

And Cablevision's future?

Asked if the company is contemplating a sale of its cable TV networks, Jim Dolan says he doesn't think it's likely, mostly because nobody would be willing to pay the big tab. He thinks the systems are worth at least $6,000 per subscriber, or roughly $20 billion.

Chuck Dolan declines to elaborate, but he says he won't buck the CEO. "If that's Jim's assessment, I won't disagree," he says.

One thing he is certain of is his son's value as Cablevision's CEO. "Every year when we report our results and give our guidance, it's better than the year before," he offers. "And, you know, that's the test."

As for his son's independent streak, well, that's to be expected, he says. Especially given Cablevision's reputation for "edginess."

Jim Dolan has no illusions about his father stepping aside anytime soon. Nor does he expect his father to relinquish his special voting rights, the same ones that allowed him to bounce out three board members like Ping Pong balls. Dolan says his father will continue to play the role of entrepreneur, just as he has done for the past 40 years.

"And that means you just don't know what he's going to do," Dolan says, a wry smile washing across his face. "The good news is that I should be one of the first people to hear about it."