ESPN Founder Bill Rasmussen Dies at 93

Bill Rasmussen, who founded ESPN with his son Scott and launched the world's first 24-hour sports television network on 7 September 1979, has died at 93. He passed away at his Florida home on 18 August 2026 from Parkinson's disease, which he was diagnosed with in 2014. ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro called him "a visionary and an innovator." Acquired satellite space on a personal credit card to go national.