ESPN founder Bill Rasmussen dies at 93

Aug. 18 (Reuters) - Bill Rasmussen, the founder of ESPN, died on Tuesday at the age of 93 from the effects of Parkinson's disease, the network announced.

“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.

Here are some details:

• Rasmussen's wife, Lois, died in 2011. He is survived by two sons, a daughter, seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
• Rasmussen and his son Scott began exploring the idea of a sports-only television network in 1978, using emerging satellite technology.
• ESPN was launched on September 7, 1979, in 1.4 million homes, with SportsCenter as its opening program.
• Rasmussen was ESPN's first president and was named chairman in July 1979 before leaving an active role at the company in October 1980.
• Under Rasmussen's leadership, ESPN introduced around-the-clock sports programming and coverage of the early rounds of the NCAA men's basketball tournament.
• ESPN has grown from about 80 employees at launch to more than 5,900 employees around the world, with eight U.S. television networks, a sports app and ESPN Audio, among other services.
• Rasmussen was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2025 and was named in the Sports 100 list, honoring the 100 most important people in American sports history.