ESPN co-founder Bill Rasmussen, the broadcasting pioneer who helped transform sports television by launching the first 24-hour sports network, died Tuesday at his home in Florida. He was 93.
Rasmussen died from the effects of Parkinson’s disease, according to ESPN.
His death comes nearly five decades after he took a major financial gamble on an idea that would ultimately reshape the way millions of Americans consume sports.
Rasmussen conceived the idea for what would become ESPN after being fired from his position as communications director for the New England Whalers in the late 1970s.
Working alongside his son, Scott Rasmussen, he initially envisioned a network centered on Connecticut sports. The concept soon expanded into something far more ambitious: a national television network devoted to broadcasting sports 24 hours a day.
At a time when around-the-clock sports television was virtually unheard of, Rasmussen put his own finances behind the project. He maxed out his credit card and used a $9,000 advance to secure space on a communications satellite.
Rasmussen then worked to convince professional sports leagues, investors and cable companies that there was an audience for a dedicated sports network.
The gamble eventually paid off.
The Entertainment and Sports Programming Network officially launched on Sept. 7, 1979. Rasmussen served as the fledgling company’s first president and CEO.
ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro credited Rasmussen’s vision and determination with laying the foundation for the network.
“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 — key aspects of our company culture that still carry on to this day.”
Rasmussen left ESPN only a few years after its launch, but the network he helped create continued expanding into one of the most recognizable brands in sports broadcasting.
Veteran ESPN anchor Chris Berman, who joined the network just weeks after it launched in 1979, also paid tribute to Rasmussen.
“Bill was our George Washington and a good friend,” Berman said.
“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.”
Rasmussen remained involved in media ventures after leaving ESPN and frequently discussed the unlikely story behind the network’s creation during speaking engagements.
He also chronicled his experience in the book “Sports Junkies Rejoice: The Birth of ESPN.”
Rasmussen later encouraged aspiring entrepreneurs to pursue ambitious ideas even when they did not know exactly how they would accomplish them, per Trending Politics.
“I believe the harder you work, the luckier you are,” Rasmussen told Forbes in 2012.
Rasmussen’s original bet ultimately helped establish a model that changed sports broadcasting and gave fans access to around-the-clock coverage that has since become commonplace.
