{"id":143261,"date":"2026-08-18T16:00:49","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T20:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/bill-rasmussen-espn-founder-who-conceived-a-cable-network-devoted-to-sports-dead-at-93-143261"},"modified":"2026-08-18T16:00:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T20:00:49","slug":"bill-rasmussen-espn-founder-who-conceived-a-cable-network-devoted-to-sports-dead-at-93","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/bill-rasmussen-espn-founder-who-conceived-a-cable-network-devoted-to-sports-dead-at-93-143261","title":{"rendered":"Bill Rasmussen, ESPN founder who conceived a cable network devoted to sports, dead at 93"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

ESPN founder Bill Rasmussen passed away at the age of 93 on Tuesday from the effects of Parkinson\u2019s Disease<\/a>. ESPN Chairman\u00a0Jimmy Pitaro published the following statement, remembering Rasmussen:<\/p>\n

“Bill was a remarkable man \u2013 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\u2019t for Bill\u2019s passion and all the hard work and entrepreneurial spirit he put into building ESPN in the late 1970s \u2013 key aspects of our company culture that still carry on to this day.”<\/p>\n

Pitaro added: “One of my greatest thrills since joining ESPN was getting to know Bill on a personal level. I will always cherish the memory of catching the ceremonial first pitch that he threw at Fenway Park in Boston<\/a> in celebration of our 40th anniversary. His legacy will always be a part of ESPN.”<\/p>\n

JOSH PATE DISCUSSES NEW ESPN SHOW, FOUR FACES OF ESPN, PAT MCAFEE AND FUTURE OF MEDIA COMPANY WITH OUTKICK<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

During a traffic stop in 1978, Rasmussen and his son Scott were discussing programming options for their newly acquired satellite transponder from RCA.<\/p>\n

Rasmussen then blurted out an idea: a 4-hour cable network devoted to sports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

ESPN launched on Sept. 7, 1979, beginning with the first broadcast of SportsCenter, which remains the network’s flagship brand nearly 50 years later.<\/p>\n

Scott Rasmussen reminisced this car ride on X Tuesday:<\/p>\n

“After I finished high school, my father and I worked closely together for a few years in the late 1970s and early ’80s. I will never forget the car ride on August 16, 1978 and am still amazed at what it helped create.<\/p>\n

“My most cherished memory of my father was at about 6 pm on September 7, 1979– one hour before @ESPN went on the air. We snuck around the back of the building and had a moment alone to reflect on all that had happened since that car ride. Later, our journeys through life took different paths, but I am grateful we had that brief moment together and am proud of what we accomplished.”<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE FOR MORE OUTKICK SPORTS COVERAGE<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to imagine what sports media would look like today without Rasmussen\u2019s idea. Would daily sports talk shows even exist on television? Would there be an OutKick or Barstool? And would names like Chris Berman, Bob Ley and Stephen A. Smith<\/a> have ever become household names without Rasmussen?<\/p>\n

Most importantly, would live sports in America have continued to grow at the rate in which they did without a network devoted to promoting the various leagues across the country?<\/p>\n

As ESPN legend Chris Berman said on Tuesday, “Bill was our George Washington.”<\/p>\n

“He was such a grateful person and every sports fan can be grateful for Bill,” Berman, who joined the network three weeks after the original network launch in 1979, added.<\/p>\n

“He wasn\u2019t a glass half-full guy; his glass was always overflowing with optimism. He greeted everyone with a smile and we can all smile knowing Bill\u2019s legacy.”<\/p>\n

ESPN notes that Rasmussen became an ambassador for Parkinson\u2019s patients through both the American Parkinson Disease Association and the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson\u2019s Research.<\/p>\n

The network says that in place of flowers, donations may be made to the American Parkinson Disease Association<\/a>.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source – https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/outkick-sports\/bill-rasmussen-espn-founder-conceived-cable-network-devoted-sports-dead-93 <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ESPN founder Bill Rasmussen passed away at the age of 93 on Tuesday from the effects of Parkinson\u2019s Disease. ESPN Chairman\u00a0Jimmy Pitaro published the following […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"twitter_2902945987_2902945987":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[16563],"tags":[],"stock_ticker":[],"class_list":["post-143261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-market-news","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBill Rasmussen, ESPN founder who conceived a cable network devoted to sports, dead at 93 - Wall Street PR<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/bill-rasmussen-espn-founder-who-conceived-a-cable-network-devoted-to-sports-dead-at-93-143261\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bill Rasmussen, ESPN founder who conceived a cable network devoted to sports, dead at 93 - Wall Street PR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"ESPN founder Bill Rasmussen passed away at the age of 93 on Tuesday from the effects of Parkinson\u2019s Disease. ESPN Chairman\u00a0Jimmy Pitaro published the following […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/bill-rasmussen-espn-founder-who-conceived-a-cable-network-devoted-to-sports-dead-at-93-143261\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Wall Street PR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WallStreetPR\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-18T20:00:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/businessman-showing-business-evolution1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"715\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"423\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/bill-rasmussen-espn-founder-who-conceived-a-cable-network-devoted-to-sports-dead-at-93-143261#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/bill-rasmussen-espn-founder-who-conceived-a-cable-network-devoted-to-sports-dead-at-93-143261\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/person\/6e00efa2abc413bdc0bca51a90c54d36\"},\"headline\":\"Bill Rasmussen, ESPN founder who conceived a cable network devoted to sports, dead at 93\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-18T20:00:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/bill-rasmussen-espn-founder-who-conceived-a-cable-network-devoted-to-sports-dead-at-93-143261\"},\"wordCount\":574,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Market News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/bill-rasmussen-espn-founder-who-conceived-a-cable-network-devoted-to-sports-dead-at-93-143261\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/bill-rasmussen-espn-founder-who-conceived-a-cable-network-devoted-to-sports-dead-at-93-143261\",\"name\":\"Bill Rasmussen, ESPN founder who conceived a cable network devoted to sports, dead at 93 - Wall Street PR\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-18T20:00:49+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/bill-rasmussen-espn-founder-who-conceived-a-cable-network-devoted-to-sports-dead-at-93-143261#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/bill-rasmussen-espn-founder-who-conceived-a-cable-network-devoted-to-sports-dead-at-93-143261\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/bill-rasmussen-espn-founder-who-conceived-a-cable-network-devoted-to-sports-dead-at-93-143261#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Bill Rasmussen, ESPN founder who conceived a cable network devoted to sports, dead at 93\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/\",\"name\":\"Wall Street PR\",\"description\":\"Latest News From WallStreet\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Wall Street PR\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/brand-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/brand-logo.png\",\"width\":537,\"height\":70,\"caption\":\"Wall Street PR\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WallStreetPR\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/WallstreetPRs\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/person\/6e00efa2abc413bdc0bca51a90c54d36\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/360_F_336393115_5gCUfwn76x3MJaCJMYDKLoRebkC8QyrL-300x300.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/360_F_336393115_5gCUfwn76x3MJaCJMYDKLoRebkC8QyrL-300x300.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/360_F_336393115_5gCUfwn76x3MJaCJMYDKLoRebkC8QyrL-300x300.jpg\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/author\/admin\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Bill Rasmussen, ESPN founder who conceived a cable network devoted to sports, dead at 93 - Wall Street PR","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/bill-rasmussen-espn-founder-who-conceived-a-cable-network-devoted-to-sports-dead-at-93-143261","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Bill Rasmussen, ESPN founder who conceived a cable network devoted to sports, dead at 93 - Wall Street PR","og_description":"ESPN founder Bill Rasmussen passed away at the age of 93 on Tuesday from the effects of Parkinson\u2019s Disease. ESPN Chairman\u00a0Jimmy Pitaro published the following […]","og_url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/bill-rasmussen-espn-founder-who-conceived-a-cable-network-devoted-to-sports-dead-at-93-143261","og_site_name":"Wall Street PR","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WallStreetPR\/","article_published_time":"2026-08-18T20:00:49+00:00","og_image":[{"width":715,"height":423,"url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/businessman-showing-business-evolution1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/bill-rasmussen-espn-founder-who-conceived-a-cable-network-devoted-to-sports-dead-at-93-143261#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/bill-rasmussen-espn-founder-who-conceived-a-cable-network-devoted-to-sports-dead-at-93-143261"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/person\/6e00efa2abc413bdc0bca51a90c54d36"},"headline":"Bill Rasmussen, ESPN founder who conceived a cable network devoted to sports, dead at 93","datePublished":"2026-08-18T20:00:49+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/bill-rasmussen-espn-founder-who-conceived-a-cable-network-devoted-to-sports-dead-at-93-143261"},"wordCount":574,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Market News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/bill-rasmussen-espn-founder-who-conceived-a-cable-network-devoted-to-sports-dead-at-93-143261","url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/bill-rasmussen-espn-founder-who-conceived-a-cable-network-devoted-to-sports-dead-at-93-143261","name":"Bill Rasmussen, ESPN founder who conceived a cable network devoted to sports, dead at 93 - Wall Street PR","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-08-18T20:00:49+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/bill-rasmussen-espn-founder-who-conceived-a-cable-network-devoted-to-sports-dead-at-93-143261#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/bill-rasmussen-espn-founder-who-conceived-a-cable-network-devoted-to-sports-dead-at-93-143261"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/bill-rasmussen-espn-founder-who-conceived-a-cable-network-devoted-to-sports-dead-at-93-143261#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Bill Rasmussen, ESPN founder who conceived a cable network devoted to sports, dead at 93"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/","name":"Wall Street PR","description":"Latest News From WallStreet","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#organization","name":"Wall Street PR","url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/brand-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/brand-logo.png","width":537,"height":70,"caption":"Wall Street PR"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WallStreetPR\/","https:\/\/x.com\/WallstreetPRs"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/person\/6e00efa2abc413bdc0bca51a90c54d36","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/360_F_336393115_5gCUfwn76x3MJaCJMYDKLoRebkC8QyrL-300x300.jpg","url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/360_F_336393115_5gCUfwn76x3MJaCJMYDKLoRebkC8QyrL-300x300.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/360_F_336393115_5gCUfwn76x3MJaCJMYDKLoRebkC8QyrL-300x300.jpg","caption":"admin"},"url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/author\/admin"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=143261"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143261\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=143261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=143261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=143261"},{"taxonomy":"stock_ticker","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stock_ticker?post=143261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}