Bill Rasmussen, the visionary founder who created ESPN and changed how we watch sports forever, died from complications of Parkinson’s disease. The news of his passing was announced this Tuesday by the network.
An X post read, “ESPN founder Bill Rasmussen, whose out-of-the-box idea of a 24-hour cable sports network forever changed the landscape of sports media, died today at the age of 93. A game-changer for the ages. Thank you for everything, Bill ❤️”
Rasmussen’s path to changing media history started with a huge setback. In 1978, he got fired from his job with the New England Whalers hockey team. Instead of giving up, he teamed up with his son Scott to chase a big idea: a national cable network that played sports around the clock.
Without major corporate money at the start, Rasmussen took a huge risk. He maxed out his credit cards and used a $9,000 advance to buy satellite space. Operating out of Bristol, Connecticut, the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network launched on September 7, 1979. At a time when TV channels turned off overnight, Rasmussen gave fans non-stop access to live games and highlights.
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Leaders from across the industry are honoring his massive impact. ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro praised Rasmussen’s legacy, stating, “Bill was a remarkable man, a visionary and an innovator who conceived the idea of a network entirely devoted to sports. 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.”
Veteran broadcaster Chris Berman also paid respect, saying, “Bill was our George Washington and a good friend… He wasn’t a glass half-full guy; his glass was always overflowing with optimism.”
Without Bill Rasmussen taking that leap of faith, sports television as we know it would not exist. He did more than start a TV channel, he created the platform that shaped how generations talk about, watch, and live sports.