ESPN Founder Bill Rasmussen Dies at 93 After Parkinsons Battle
Bill Rasmussen, the entrepreneur who launched the world’s first 24‑hour all‑sports cable network, died on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, at his Florida home. The ESPN news release said he was 93 and that the death resulted from complications of Parkinson’s disease, a condition he had publicly disclosed in 2019 after a 2014 diagnosis.
Rasmussen’s death marks the end of a career that began in the 1960s as a radio and television sports director. Born October 15, 1932, in Chicago, he grew up in Columbus Manor, Illinois, earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from DePauw University, served in the U.S. Air Force, and later completed an MBA at Rutgers University. He entered the media industry in 1962 with a radio job in Massachusetts and spent eight years as sports director and two years as news director at WWLP‑TV. In 1978 he was fired from a communications role with the New England Whalers.
In the summer of 1978, Rasmussen and his son Scott secured a spot on an RCA satellite transponder, financing the deposit with a $9,000 credit‑card advance. While traveling on Interstate 84, he conceived the idea of a channel devoted entirely to sports. The idea evolved into the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, later shortened to ESPN. The company was founded in Bristol, Connecticut, with about 80 employees.
ESPN officially launched on September 7, 1979, to 1.4 million homes at 7 p.m. Eastern. The first broadcast began with a brief introduction followed by the debut of “SportsCenter,” hosted by Lee Leonard and George Grande. The program has since become the network’s flagship show and holds the record for the most episodes of any television program.
The network’s early growth was fueled by financial backing from Getty Oil, a programming contract with the NCAA, and a landmark advertising deal with Anheuser‑Busch. In 1984, ABC acquired ESPN from Texaco, which had absorbed Getty for $237.5 million. The Walt Disney Company later purchased Capital Cities/ABC in 1996, bringing ESPN under Disney’s umbrella. In 2006, ESPN absorbed ABC’s sports division.
Today, ESPN employs more than 5,900 people worldwide and operates eight U.S. cable channels, in addition to sports programming on ABC and a widely used sports app. The network remains a dominant force in sports media, with a 20 % share of sports broadcasting rights.
Rasmussen stepped back from day‑to‑day operations roughly a year after the launch, as professional managers and outside capital took over. He continued to advise sports rights holders and maintained his own startup ventures in the sports sector.
ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro released a statement that read: “Bill was a remarkable man — a visionary and an innovator who conceived the idea of a network entirely devoted to sports. 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.”
Veteran ESPN anchor Chris Berman also paid tribute: “Bill was our George Washington and a good friend. He was such a grateful person and every sports fan can be grateful for Bill.”
Rasmussen publicly disclosed his Parkinson’s diagnosis in 2019 and became an ambassador for the American Parkinson Disease Association and the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. In a 2019 essay for ESPN, he reflected on the disease’s stigma and compared it to the early skepticism surrounding a 24‑hour sports channel.
He is survived by his three children, Scott, Glenn and Lynn Van Hollebeke, seven grandchildren and two great‑grandchildren. His wife of 56 years, Lois, died in 2011.
ESPN’s leadership has not announced any immediate changes to its executive structure following Rasmussen’s death. The network continues to operate under the current management team, with James Pitaro serving as chairman.
The passing of Bill Rasmussen underscores the lasting impact of his vision, which transformed sports broadcasting from a handful of local stations into a global, 24‑hour media enterprise. His legacy lives on in ESPN’s continued dominance and in the countless sports fans who rely on the network for live coverage and analysis.
