ESPN Founder Bill Rasmussen Dies at 93, Helped Launch the First 24-Hour Sports Network in 1979

Bill Rasmussen, the sports media executive who helped create ESPN and later became a central figure in American television’s shift toward continuous news and sports programming, died Tuesday at the age of 93. Rasmussen died at his home in Florida of Parkinson’s disease, according to Deadline, which reported the death on Aug. 18, 2026.

Rasmussen co-founded ESPN in 1979 with his son Scott, establishing what he and other executives described as the world’s first 24-hour sports television network. The launch arrived at a time when sports broadcasting was largely tied to seasonal schedules and discrete event windows, rather than a continuous, network-driven stream of programming.

Deadline’s report said Rasmussen had earlier been involved in professional hockey communications work, after being fired as communications director of the New England Whalers. Despite that setback, he went on to pursue the ESPN concept, which he developed alongside his son before the network began operating on a full-time basis.

ESPN’s founding model, which centered on sports content available around the clock, helped establish a template later used broadly across cable and sports media. While Rasmussen’s role in day-to-day operations of the network is not detailed in the report, the story credits him with pioneering the basic idea of a dedicated sports channel rather than treating sports as a periodic supplement to other programming.

The report also described Rasmussen as someone who “shrugged off skeptics” during the effort to launch ESPN, framing the decision as an effort to bring constant sports coverage to audiences. The account does not specify which critics said what or how those objections were resolved, but it places the launch within a culture of skepticism about whether 24-hour sports programming could sustain viewership.

Rasmussen’s death closes the chapter on a career that is closely tied to ESPN’s origins, and it arrives as the network’s industry influence continues to reverberate through sports rights, studio production, and the broader cable media business. Deadline did not include additional information on surviving family members or funeral arrangements.

In the immediate aftermath of Rasmussen’s death, ESPN and other sports media partners are expected to acknowledge the passing of the network’s founding figure, as is common when major broadcast executives die. The Deadline report did not list a memorial or official statement at publication time, and no further details were included about immediate changes to ESPN leadership or ongoing projects.