ESPN co-founder Bill Rasmussen dies at 93

Bill Rasmussen, co-founder of ESPN, died Tuesday at age 93 from the effects of Parkinson's disease, the network announced. He died at his Florida home.

Rasmussen launched ESPN in September 1979 alongside his son Scott and Ed Eagan in Connecticut. The network began broadcasting on September 7, 1979, with the first edition of SportsCenter. ESPN became the first 24-hour cable sports network of national reach, fundamentally changing sports television.

The concept emerged after Rasmussen was fired from his position as communications director of the New England Whalers, a professional ice hockey team. Rather than abandon his vision for sports programming, he and his son developed the idea of a round-the-clock sports television network—a concept that faced significant skepticism in the late 1970s. Despite initial doubt about whether such a venture could succeed, ESPN grew into a media fixture within a few years.

Rasmussen served as the network's inaugural president and CEO, establishing relationships with sports leagues, investors, and cable operators that positioned ESPN for long-term growth. He left the company in 1980 but reconnected with the network in 1999 ahead of its 20th anniversary.

Rasmussen announced in 2019 that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2014.

ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro issued a statement following Rasmussen's death. "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."

ESPN historian Mike Soltys confirmed details of Rasmussen's death and his long association with the network he founded.