ESPN Co-Founder Bill Rasmussen, Who Built the First 24-Hour Sports Network, Dies at 93

Bill Rasmussen, the entrepreneur whose idea for a network devoted entirely to sports became ESPN, died Tuesday at his Florida home from complications of Parkinson’s disease. He was 93. ESPN confirmed his death in a statement, closing the book on the life of a man who reshaped how the world watches games.

Rasmussen’s path to founding ESPN began with a layoff. After losing his job as communications director for the WHA’s New England Whalers in 1978, he and his son Scott hatched the idea for a cable channel dedicated solely to sports during a conversation on a Connecticut highway. What started as a regional concept called the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network quickly grew into something far bigger: the world’s first 24-hour sports television network, incorporated on July 14, 1978, and launched from a converted garbage dump in Bristol, Connecticut, on September 7, 1979.

From a Traffic Jam to a Television Revolution

The origin story has become legend in sports media circles. Working with a $9,000 credit card advance and minimal cable television experience, Rasmussen and his small team negotiated satellite time, struck a programming rights deal with the NCAA, and landed advertising commitments from companies like Anheuser-Busch, all in roughly 14 months. Getty Oil eventually paid $10 million for an 85 percent stake in the venture in early 1979, providing the capital that got ESPN on the air. When the network signed on at 7 p.m. that September evening, anchor Lee Leonard greeted a modest audience of 1.4 million cable subscribers with the now-famous line inviting fans to “sports heaven.”

Rasmussen served as ESPN’s first president and CEO, but his hands-on role didn’t last. Just weeks before launch, Getty’s leadership moved to strip him of authority, and he was largely pushed out of day-to-day operations even as the network he conceived exploded in popularity. Despite that early ouster, Rasmussen remained closely associated with ESPN for the rest of his life and was honored repeatedly as the company grew into a multibillion-dollar media empire spanning television, streaming, and digital platforms — a legacy that now touches everything from live game broadcasts to real-time sports betting odds tracked around the clock.

Tributes From the Sports World

ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro issued a statement calling Rasmussen “a remarkable man — a visionary and an innovator who conceived the idea of a network entirely devoted to sports.” Pitaro added that “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.” ESPN personality Chris Berman, one of the network’s original on-air talents, called Rasmussen “our George Washington and a dear friend” in the company’s tribute.

ESPN’s official account on X remembered Rasmussen as the architect of an “out-of-the-box idea” that changed sports media forever, writing, “A game-changer for the ages. Thank you for everything, Bill.” Colleagues who worked alongside him in those chaotic early days also paid tribute, recalling his optimism and sense of humor even as the fledgling network scrambled to get cameras, satellite dishes, and even working restrooms in place before that first broadcast.

Rasmussen was predeceased by his wife of 56 years, Lois, who died in 2011. He is survived by two sons, Scott and Glenn, daughter Lynn Van Hollebeke, seven grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

A Legacy That Reshaped an Industry

What Rasmussen built from nothing in Bristol has since spawned dozens of spinoff networks and streaming platforms carrying the ESPN name, along with signature programming like SportsCenter that redefined how sports news gets delivered. His vision proved that fans would tune in around the clock for coverage of games, highlights, and analysis — a bet that seemed absurd to the cable executives who turned him down before Getty Oil finally said yes.

ESPN’s April 2026 documentary “Sports Heaven: The Birth of ESPN” had already brought renewed attention to Rasmussen’s story earlier this year, chronicling how a fired hockey executive and his son turned a traffic-jam idea into the dominant force in sports broadcasting. That renewed spotlight makes his passing land even harder for a sports media industry that, as Pitaro put it, simply wouldn’t exist in its current form without him.