The man who pioneered wholesale change in sports media with the founding of ESPN has died.
Bill Rasmussen, the entrepreneur who conceived the 24-hour cable sports network ESPN, died on Tuesday at age 93, the network announced. Rasmussen, along with his son Scott, famously came up with the idea for ESPN while stuck in traffic traveling to the Jersey Shore. Now, nearly 50 years later, ESPN is a behemoth prepared to broadcast the first Super Bowl in the network’s history next February.
“Bill was a remarkable man – a visionary and an innovator who conceived the idea of a network entirely devoted to sports,” ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement. “Quite simply, none of us would be here today if it wasn’t for Bill’s passion and all the hard work and entrepreneurial spirit he put into building ESPN in the late 1970s – key aspects of our company culture that still carry on to this day.”
Rasmussen’s time at ESPN was essential but short-lived. The network launched in 1979 on the back of emerging satellite technology and funding from Getty Oil. The early days of ESPN were programmed with the flagship SportsCenter news and highlights show surrounded by a hodgepodge of live sports rights. Securing early-round NCAA Tournament broadcasts in March of 1980 proved to be a springboard for the fledgling network, helping bring ESPN into the mainstream.
Rasmussen left ESPN in October 1980 just over a year after its formal launch. Despite his brief tenure, his impact on the sports media industry was profound.
In 2019, Rasmussen publicly disclosed his diagnosis with Parkinson’s Disease and became an advocate for patients battling the degenerative condition.
After stepping away from ESPN in 1980, Rasmussen began consulting within the sports media industry. In 2025, he was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame.
“Bill was our George Washington and a good friend,” veteran ESPN anchor Chris Berman, who joined ESPN three weeks after the network launch in 1979, said in a statement. “He was such a grateful person and every sports fan can be grateful for Bill. He wasn’t a glass half-full guy; his glass was always overflowing with optimism. He greeted everyone with a smile and we can all smile knowing Bill’s legacy.”
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