ESPN Founder and Trendsetter Bill Rasmussen Has Died at 93
He definitely changed the landscape of television with his idea. The concept of a television station providing 24/7 sports coverage didn’t seem plausible and yet it worked. In 1979, ESPN was launched as the world’s first 24-hour television network. Now 47 years after his novel concept became a household name, ESPN founder and trendsetter Bill Rasmussen has died at 93. He died from complications of Parkinson’s disease.
He and his son Scott started the idea as Connecticut venture which eventually became a 24-hour national sports network. ESPN stands for the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network and dubbed themselves as the “Worldwide Leader in Sports”. Because they were dedicated to sports 24 hours per day, seven days per week, in 1994, USA TODAY called Rasmussen the “Father of Sports Television.” Truly there had not been a network like it before. Unlike the news programming that came on the basic channels at certain times each day, this network was all sports, all the time.
ESPN provides some background on how Rasmussen got things started: 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.
They also go on to explain how he got the station up and running: 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.
ESPN Founder and Trendsetter Bill Rasmussen Has Died at 93
A nice video about the network was provided by ESPN on their social media account. It takes viewers behind the scenes on what it took to get the network going. Rasmussen said he was proud of ESPN, who wouldn’t be? We’d have to agree with him on that point. Thanks to him sports lovers had more access to their favorite sports and even sports they may not have been familiar with or even heard of. Now other streaming services are trying to get in on the sports ticket. Netflix, Amazon, Disney and others all have broadcasted major sporting events.
Obviously, Rasmussen was onto something when he came up with the idea for sports all day, every day. And sports fans couldn’t have been happier with his creation. Thank you to Bill Rassmussen for his pioneering efforts in sports, rest in peace.
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