ESPN is celebrating its 45-year anniversary this month, recognizing the launch of the network at 7 p.m. EST on Sept. 7, 1979. A college football game between South Florida and Alabama will be on the airwaves at that time on Saturday as the company continues to serve sports fans anytime and anywhere. The idea to launch the 24/7 all-sports network came from Bill Rasmussen, former communications manager for the Hartford Whalers, and the vision was further expanded upon in discussions with his son Scott. Looking back on the business venture, Rasmussen is proud of what the network has accomplished over its 45-year history, he stated in a recent interview conducted by ESPN host Jeremy Schaap.
At first, Rasmussen was thinking about producing programming and getting more local coverage, perhaps in the New England region. Yet that idea evolved when RCA America was introducing satellite delivery technology in the United States and Rasmussen was informed that the technology could distribute the channel across the country. Upon this revelation, along with finding out that the 24-hour satellite feed was cheaper than sending the signal across the state through landlines, they came to an agreement to purchase the satellite transponder. Rasmussen, however, did not have the necessary capital to complete this transaction and started looking for partners.
“Getty Oil – they would provide the money,” Rasmussen recalled. “He started out and he said, ‘We take 80% of your company, and we’ll give you all the money you want. Nah, make that 85%.’ That was tough to take. If I didn’t give up the control, we would have lost the idea.”
Once an agreement was reached for Getty Oil to purchase 85% of ESPN, the network began constructing its headquarters and officially launched in September 1979 with Lee Leonard introducing viewers to SportsCenter. As Leonard took the air, he told fans that what they were watching and would consume in the time to follow “may convince you you’ve gone to sports heaven.”
“We were also standing there,” Rasmussen said. “We just kind of looked in awe. I guess we crossed our fingers and had to go, ‘Here we go guys,’ because one of contractors was still finishing cleaning up and he’s out in the hallway, and there’s a guy out there with a mop cleaning the hallway, and we’re over here making TV history.”
Seven days after it took the air, sportscaster Jim Simpson joined ESPN after working for NBC, granting the network additional credibility. Five years afterwards, ABC acquired the network from Getty, and it continued to grow through live event broadcasts and was awarded the first cable contract from the NFL. ESPN started broadcasting Major League Baseball in 1990 and became a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company in February 1996 when Disney acquired Capital Cities/ABC, Inc.
Over the years, ESPN has continued to expand its footprint in the sports media business through live sporting events, studio programming and multiplatform content across television, radio and digital platforms. In the second half of 2025, the company plans to launch its Flagship direct-to-consumer platform, providing consumers a new way to watch content without a traditional cable subscription. The network is currently distributed to approximately 66.5 million homes, according to data from Nielsen Media Research, down from its peak of 100 million homes in 2011.
At the same time though, the brand continues to finish atop the digital space, recently accruing 102.3 million unique visitors and 725 million engagements on social media in the month of July. ESPN is also the most-followed brand in the world on TikTok and has programming specially tailored to social media platforms. Additionally, The Walt Disney Company (ESPN/ABC) recently agreed to a 11-year media rights deal to continue broadcasting NBA games, including the exclusive presentation of the NBA Finals.
Since the start of the year, ESPN has renewed several media rights deals, including for the College Football Playoff and championships within the NCAA. The company also recently started its new media rights agreement with the SEC, debuting the SEC on ABC broadcast property complete with revamped theme music and special graphics. Looking back on the idea to start the network 45 years later, Rasmussen looks fondly on its evolution as it continues to penetrate into the digital age.
“It confirms that optimism that if you keep asking questions, you may have some interesting things happen, but of course I’m proud of ESPN,” Rasmussen said. “Who wouldn’t be?”
