(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace) -- In the immediate aftermath of the announcement on Wednesday that Rainbow Media, a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corp (NYSE:CVC), will purchase the Sundance Channel for $496 million, there has been a barrage of negative feedback by analysts directed at Cablevision for its entire long-term strategy, not just for this one acquisition, The New York Times reported.

At issue is what analysts interpret as an unconstrained buying binge by the company’s controlling family, the Dolan Family, that does not follow a rational logic when viewed in conjunction with its core business, the company’s critics suggest. 

"It is reportedly bidding against Rupert Murdoch for Newsday, a newspaper owned by Tribune. And Cablevision recently considered buying a stake in AEG Live, the concert promoter," The Times reported in an article on Thursday.

"This approach is not sitting well with some analysts, such as Rich Greenfield of Pali Research, who has been a vocal critic of the Dolans’ empire-building tendencies," The Times report added.

Cablevision’s Directors must address the analysts’ questions in a straightforward fashion in order to retain investor confidence with regard to these purchases.

NewsVisual created an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map of Cablevision’s Board of Directors in order to assess their collective level of business experience.

The Knowledge Map shows that several of the Directors sit on the boards of several corporations, including Sheraton Corp., Harrahs Entertainment Inc., and Hasbro Inc., to name a few.