Founder Of ESPN Dead At 93

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

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— ESPN (@espn) August 18, 2026

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It was a moment for risk-taking. In the late 1970s, not many people thought an around-the-clock cable sports network had any chance. Bill Rasmussen, who had just been fired as communications director of the New England Whalers, was one of them. He maxed out his credit card, and with his $9,000 advance, acquired valuable space on a communications satellite.

“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 knocked on doors, talking to all the major sports leagues, the top cable operators and an array of investors. He gained backing, and on Sept. 7, 1979, the Entertainment and Sports Programming network was born. Bill and Scott Rasmussen co-founded ESPN, with Bill serving as ESPN’s first president and CEO.

Though Rasmussen left ESPN after a few years, he laid the groundwork for future growth. A meeting with the NFL did not bring immediate results, but a door was opened to what would eventually become “Monday Night Football” on ESPN.

“Bill was our George Washington and a good friend,” said veteran anchor Chris Berman, who joined ESPN three weeks after the original network launch in 1979. “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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"If you're a fan, what you'll see in the next minutes, hours and days to follow may convince you you've gone to sports heaven.”

Bill Rasmussen, who died Tuesday, had a vision for what sports television could be. On Sept. 7, 1979, it became real.

From all of us at SportsCenter:… pic.twitter.com/w6mIwLcBcD

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 18, 2026

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Indeed, some key elements of ESPN were birthed under Rasmussen. The opening program on ESPN was a show called “SportsCenter,” hosted at the time by Lee Leonard and George Grande. The series remains on air at the network.

Rasmussen also introduced round-the-clock sports programming and coverage of the early rounds of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament in the spring of 1980, which drew national attention to ESPN.

In 2026, ESPN employs more than 5,900 employees around the world, and programs eight U.S. television networks plus the sports programming on ABC, along with a mobile app and a burgeoning and direct-to-consumer service, a suite of radio programs and podcasts and social and digital feeds. The outlet, now controlled by Disney, with Hearst and the NFL counted as minority investors, is home to such sports staples as “Monday Night Football,” the hot-talk show “First Take” and hours and hours of NFL and NBA telecasts, among other sports coverage.

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