Charles F. Dolan, who founded HBO, merged a group of small Long Island cable TV systems into a network he called Cablevision and amassed a fortune building an innovative communications, entertainment and sports empire that included Madison Square Garden and its professional teams, died on Saturday. He was 98.

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

Charles Dolan, a cable pioneer and patriarch of the Dolan media family, died Dec. 28 of natural causes, Newsday reported. He was 98.

"Sometimes A Great Notion" was the first movie ever shown on HBO, then known as Home Box Office Inc., the premium cable service that would change television forever. It was the brainchild of Charles Dolan.

Per CNN, Dolan was also a founder and chairman emeritus of The Lustgarten Foundation, which conducts pancreatic cancer research. According to Forbes, Dolan and his family have a net worth of 5.4 billion at the time of his death.

Salutes and remembrances are continuing for Charles Dolan, a media pioneer who founded HBO and Cablevision, in the wake of news of his death.

Charles F. Dolan, who founded some of the most prominent U.S. media companies including Home Box Office Inc. and Cablevision Systems Corp., has died at age 98.

Charles Dolan, the billionaire founder of HBO and Cablevision whose family owns Madison Square Garden and AMC Networks, died Saturday from natural causes, the Dolan family announced in a statement. Dolan,

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.