Podchaser Logo
Home
Introducing: Reign of Error

Introducing: Reign of Error

TrailerReleased Monday, 15th May 2023
Good episode? Give it some love!
Introducing: Reign of Error

Introducing: Reign of Error

Introducing: Reign of Error

Introducing: Reign of Error

TrailerMonday, 15th May 2023
Good episode? Give it some love!
Rate Episode

Episode Transcript

Transcripts are displayed as originally observed. Some content, including advertisements may have changed.

Use Ctrl + F to search

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.

Unlock more with Podchaser Pro

  • Audience Insights
  • Contact Information
  • Demographics
  • Charts
  • Sponsor History
  • and More!
Pro Features