R.I.P.: ESPN Founder Bill Rasmussen Dies at 93

Bill Rasmussen, founder of ESPN and pioneer of 24-hour sports television, died Tuesday at age 93 from the effects of Parkinson’s disease, the network announced.

Rasmussen, who conceived the idea of a dedicated all-sports channel with his son Scott in the late 1970s, helped launch ESPN on Sept. 7, 1979, with the first broadcast of “SportsCenter” from Bristol, Connecticut. 

The concept was widely viewed as radical and met initial skepticism, yet the network quickly became a media fixture.

ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said: “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.”

Six months before the launch, Rasmussen and the founding team sold an 85% stake to Getty Oil. He left the company in 1980 after losing operational control but later reconnected with ESPN in 1999 ahead of its 20th anniversary. 

He was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2025.Born in Chicago in 1932, Rasmussen served in the U.S. Air Force. He began his media career in Massachusetts radio in the 1960s and became communications director for the New England Whalers in 1974. After being fired by the team in 1978, he pursued the all-sports channel idea.

ESPN launched from Bristol, Connecticut, on September 7, 1979, with its first broadcast introducing SportsCenter, the news and highlights show that became the network’s signature program.

The company had been incorporated in July 1978 as the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, a name later shortened to ESPN. During the 1980s and 1990s, as cable television grew, the network expanded rapidly, secured more valuable sports rights, increased its college sports coverage, and emerged as a major force in how fans followed games and athletes.

ESPN later broadened beyond its original television channel into additional cable networks, radio, digital reporting, documentaries, and international programming.