Episode Transcript
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0:00
I want to tell you about a new great podcast
0:02
called Reign of Error that I think we could learn
0:04
some valuable lessons from in how not
0:06
to run an organization. Reign of Error
0:09
unpacks the story of James Dolan, dreaded
0:11
owner of the New York Knicks, who wrestles away
0:14
his father's cable vision empire in a family
0:16
drama that's almost straight out of an episode of
0:18
Succession. Dolan is a man born
0:20
to immense privilege and in Reign of Error,
0:22
you'll learn how he went from aspiring musician
0:25
to holding the throne of one of the most beloved
0:27
franchises in sports. But his time
0:29
at the top can only be described as a dumpster
0:31
fire. Reign of Error details how Dolan
0:34
has become a lightning rod for criticism
0:36
as he tries to escape from the shadow of his billionaire
0:38
father. Dolan battles with his own players,
0:41
fans, celebrities, politicians, the
0:43
media, even Girl Scouts, using
0:45
everything from an army of lawyers to facial
0:48
recognition technology to keep his enemies
0:50
out of his venues. You're about to hear a clip
0:52
from Reign of Error. While you're listening, follow
0:55
Reign of Error wherever you get your podcasts.
0:57
Hey, Prime members, you can listen to Reign of Error
1:00
ad-free on Amazon Music. Download
1:02
the Amazon Music app today.
1:10
Market analysts, well, they're
1:12
starting to question Chuck Dolan's
1:14
succession plan here and also the
1:16
stability of cable vision. Behind
1:19
the scenes, this is when Chuck
1:21
is beginning to support Jim's brother,
1:24
Thomas, who ran a rival division
1:26
within the company
1:27
that focused on satellite television. So
1:30
what happened was, in this dynamic,
1:32
Charles Dolan became infatuated
1:35
with satellite. And he
1:38
decided that satellite was
1:40
the direction that the industry was
1:43
headed. This is Peter Grant again,
1:45
the Wall Street Journal reporter we heard from at the top of
1:47
the show. Chuck and Tom
1:50
begin working together on a satellite
1:52
division inside Cablevision. And
1:55
things get so bad that Jim and Tom,
1:57
brothers, they stop speaking to each other.
2:00
In a speech at a cable industry event,
2:02
Chuck actually nods to this
2:04
family drama. We have both stepped
2:07
aside
2:10
and permitted our well-trained,
2:13
devoted, humble sons to follow
2:16
in our footsteps. They're
2:19
obedient. You know, it's
2:21
so great to have one of your own take over.
2:24
They have docile, submissive
2:27
people who wouldn't dream of
2:29
making a move without checking you first.
2:32
The message is pretty clear. Stay
2:34
in your lane, kiddo. In 2003,
2:37
Chuck and Jim flew to Cape
2:39
Canaveral in Florida to launch Cablevision's
2:42
first satellites. But this satellite
2:44
business didn't have a natural customer base,
2:47
or maybe it was just ahead of its time. Either way, it was
2:49
a total flop. The new venture lost more
2:51
than $600 million in a single year.
2:55
And maybe it was this massive
2:57
loss that made Jim see
3:00
that for the first time in his life,
3:02
he just might have the upper hand on his dad.
3:05
Jim started making his case to the Cablevision
3:07
board of directors, encouraging them to
3:10
shut down the satellite division, and
3:12
he starts to win over the board.
3:14
The fact that he had so much support
3:17
on the board encouraged
3:19
him to do this and encouraged him to
3:21
challenge his father really for the
3:23
first time in his life publicly.
3:26
When Jim tells the board to shut
3:28
those satellites down, Chuck
3:30
goes into full attack mode. He
3:32
replaces a quarter of Cablevision's board.
3:35
He petitions the FCC to block Cablevision
3:37
from selling its satellites, and he buys
3:40
his own website for the satellite division. He
3:42
even gives cryptic messages
3:45
about his son's job being secure,
3:49
which makes reporters suspect the exact
3:51
opposite. It started as a business
3:53
decision, but it was the business
3:56
part was the tip of the iceberg. The
3:58
emotional
3:59
part was the part that ran deep
4:02
under the surface. But the two were tied together.
4:04
These two men were very much emotionally
4:06
tied to each other. Finally,
4:10
father and son face off in that
4:13
infamous board meeting. This is the one reporters
4:15
have labeled D-Day for Dolan's. For
4:18
two hours, they're debating with Cablevision staff.
4:20
It's Jim on one side, dad
4:22
and Tom on the other. And only one is going to win this
4:25
fight. The meeting is incredibly
4:27
secretive. But the result, the vote
4:30
is clear. Jim
4:33
wins.
4:34
And if Chuck and his other son want their damn satellites,
4:36
they're going
4:37
to have to buy him themselves. In this
4:39
last battle, James stood
4:41
up to his father and prevailed.
4:44
But I've got to guess that that permanently changed
4:46
the relationship and permanently,
4:49
this is a big disappointment for Charles. I
4:51
mean, he really went to the mat
4:54
and the fact that his son
4:57
sort of beat him I think
4:59
changed him and changed the relationship.
5:02
Yeah, this was a huge moment for Jim. His
5:05
grip on power was clear, tighter
5:07
than ever. Not only did he emerge
5:09
as the rightful heir of the family empire,
5:11
he
5:12
now had the backing of the board. So
5:15
he's even more emboldened to assert
5:17
himself from his other throne
5:19
over the Knicks and Madison Square Garden.
5:25
Hey, Prime members, you can listen to Reign
5:27
of Error wherever you get your podcasts or
5:29
early and add free on Amazon Music.
5:31
Download the Amazon Music app today.
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