Bill Rasmussen, the visionary entrepreneur whose idea for a 24-hour sports network led to the creation of ESPN and transformed how fans consume sports, has died. He was 93.
ESPN announced Rasmussen's death on Tuesday, Aug. 18, describing its founder as a “game-changer for the ages.” According to the network, Rasmussen died from the effects of Parkinson's disease.
“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,” the network said. “A game-changer for the ages. Thank you for everything, Bill.”
ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro also paid tribute to Rasmussen and the entrepreneurial spirit that helped turn an ambitious concept into a sports media institution.
"Bill was a remarkable man – a visionary and an innovator who conceived the idea of a network entirely devoted to sports," Pitaro said. "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."
Rasmussen's idea began taking shape in 1978 after his tenure as communications director for the New England Whalers of the World Hockey Association came to an end. While traveling through Connecticut with his son Scott Rasmussen that August, the two began discussing programming possibilities for satellite television. What initially centered on regional sports coverage eventually grew into a national network dedicated to sports around the clock.
With financial backing from Getty Oil, an NCAA programming agreement and a major advertising commitment from Anheuser-Busch, ESPN officially launched on Sept. 7, 1979, reaching approximately 1.4 million homes. The network's first program was SportsCenter, hosted by Lee Leonard and George Grande.
Rasmussen served as ESPN's founder, first president and later chairman before leaving an active role with the company in 1980. What he helped start in Bristol, Connecticut, ultimately grew from roughly 80 employees at launch into a global sports media powerhouse.
His impact earned him numerous honors over the decades. Sports Illustrated included Rasmussen on its 1994 "Forty for the Ages" list of figures who transformed sports, while USA Today dubbed him "The Father of Sports Television." He was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2025.
Earlier this year, ESPN revisited Rasmussen's groundbreaking vision with the documentary Sports Heaven: The Birth of ESPN, chronicling how he and his son turned the unlikely idea into reality.
Rasmussen is survived by his sons Scott and Glenn, daughter Lynn, seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. His wife of 56 years, Lois, died in 2011.
