9.17.15 - Dolans Cash Out of Cablevision
"In May, Cablevision Systems Corp. Chief Executive James Dolan publicly implied that his family-controlled company could be a prime acquisition candidate amid needed cable-industry consolidation."
"As the Dolans bow out of Cablevision, the cable industry will lose a formidable contrarian voice. Because of its family-controlled roots, Cablevision wasn’t afraid to take different paths from its larger cable peers. It was the first operator to deploy tens of thousands of outdoor Wi-Fi hotspots, allowing it to offer an alternative to cellular phone service that transmits calls over Wi-Fi. It also fought a landmark legal battle against major media companies that legalized the cloud-based digital video recorder. It took on Viacom Inc. in court to press for the right to “unbundle” TV channel packages, a case that is pending."