MSG and Cablevision boss James Dolan wants to buy the New York Daily News and has a team of bankers exploring the possibility, Page Six has exclusively learned.
A source tells us Dolan’s interest in the tabloid is a natural extension of Cablevision’s current ownership of Newsday. But Dolan and MSG have been locked in a 10-year feud with the News, which could put some of the paper’s editorial staff in a precarious position if he becomes the buyer.
The feud between Dolan and the News dates back to ’05, when the paper backed a plan by former Mayor Mike Bloomberg to build the West Side Stadium. Cablevision, with Dolan as CEO, opposed the move, as the new sports venue would have competed directly with MSG.
The paper’s relationship with Dolan further soured, and in 2012, Dolan issued a statement saying the paper smeared him after he refused an approach from owner Mort Zuckerman to merge Newsday’s printing presses and other operations with theirs. The release reads, “Mr. Zuckerman has engaged in a campaign of intimidation and extortion to effect a merger between Newsday and the Daily News . . . This proposal was rejected multiple times.”
It adds, “At a Four Seasons lunch meeting on March 6, Mr. Zuckerman once again made his proposal, this time adding that ‘the bad press would end if we became joint owners’ (a direct quote).”
Shortly thereafter, the Daily News ran a full front page with Mr. Dolan’s picture as the centerpiece for a skull-and-crossbones graphic that included the word “toxic” in bold print.
On Thursday, Zuckerman announced he was exploring a sale of the loss-making tabloid. He said the move comes after “we were approached about our potential interest in selling.” Dolan was not the person who made that initial approach, we’re told. The Post’s Keith Kelly reported on Saturday that Cablevision has the cash but risks backlash from investors still unhappy about the drag on earnings from the $650 million purchase of Newsday in 2008.
Other interested buyers could include the Ricketts family, who founded TD Ameritrade; real estate scion Jared Kushner, who owns the New York Observer; Variety owner Jay Penske; magnate Ron Burkle; and Bloomberg.
A spokesman for MSG and Dolan declined to comment, as did a rep for the Daily News.