Bill Rasmussen, ESPN founder, dies at 93

Bill Rasmussen turned an improbable idea into ESPN, reshaping sports television and leaving a legacy that endured long after he lost control of the network he founded.

ESPN co-founder Bill Rasmussen passed away at the age of 93. Rasmussen brought his vision of a 24/7 all-sports network to life in 1979. Even though he left the network the next year, his impact in helping to launch the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network has far surpassed anyone’s reasonable expectations of what could be…

ESPN founder Bill Rasmussen died Tuesday, Aug. 18, at the age of 93 from complications of Parkinson's disease.

Bill Rasmussen, who co-founded cable TV sports giant ESPN, has died at the age of 93. ESPN historian Mike Soltys says Rasmussen died Tuesday at his Florida home from the effects of Parkinson’s disease. Rasmussen and his son Scott came up with the idea of a ne…

Bill Rasmussen, ESPN cofounder, has died at the age of 93. Rasmussen died at his Florida home on Tuesday, August 18, from the effects of Parkinson’s disease, ESPN historian Mike Soltys confirmed to the Associated Press. Rasmussen previously revealed he had been diagnosed with the condition five years earlier in 2019. “Bill was a remarkable […]

The former sports broadcaster and his son Scott came up with the idea for an all-sports network in 1978 while stuck in traffic

ESPN founder Bill Rasmussen has died at 93. Known as the father of sports TV, he launched the network in 1979.

ESPN remembers founder Bill Rasmussen, who died at 93 after completely changing sports television.

Bill Rasmussen, a sports visionary who founded ESPN in 1979 with his son Scott as the world’s first 24-hour sports television network, died Tuesday at 93 of Parkinson’s disease at his home in Florida. Shrugging off skeptics, the pioneering Rasmussen – after being fired as communications director of the New England Whalers — acquired space …

Bill Rasmussen, whose vision and ambition fueled the 1979 launch of ESPN as the world's first 24-hour television network, died Tuesday. He was 93.

Rasmussen, a sports enthusiast-turned-television executive, is credited with creating ESPN.

LAND O’ LAKES, Fla. (AP) — Bill Rasmussen, who co-founded ESPN in 1979 after being fired from a public relations job in the World Hockey Association, died Tuesday. ESPN historian Mike Soltys said Rasmussen died at his Florida home from the effects of Parkinson’s disease. Rasmussen announced in 2019 that he had been diagnosed with the degenerative disease in 2014.

The man who pioneered wholesale change in sports media with the founding of ESPN has died. Bill Rasmussen, the entrepreneur who conceived the 24-hour cable sports network ESPN, died on Tuesday at age 93, the network announced. Rasmussen, along with his son Scott, famously came up with the idea for ESPN while stuck in traffic…

Bill Rasmussen was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2025.

"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," chairman Jimmy Pitaro says

William F. Rasmussen, the sports fan-turned broadcaster and entrepreneur whose out-of-the-box idea of a 24-hour cable sports network, ESPN, changed forever