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People and Pop Culture

Closing Shot: DaDaDa, DaDaDa

On Sept. 7, 1979, ESPN flipped the switch on what would grow into a sports media giant. Founder Bill Rasmussen still looks back with a smile on his face.

There were plenty of doubters when ESPN launched in 1979. Bill Rasmussen gives credit to the entrepreneurial spirit among staffers for proving the skeptics wrong.ESPN Images

As ESPN rolled toward the 40th anniversary of its launch date last week, founder Bill Rasmussen visited with the network’s staff in Charlotte, the first stop in a four-city tour. Sports Business Journal got to be a fly on the wall for that meeting and chatted with Rasmussen afterward. Here are highlights of his role in making sports media history.

 

■ On the idea for ‘SportsCenter’: “I had always thought that we needed longer to deliver sports [than the time allotted on traditional newscasts], so now we’re creating a new network, why not make it what we want? At first … we came up with the idea of ‘Sports Central.’ By the time we came on the air, of course, it was ‘SportsCenter.’ The idea was a half hour of nothing but sports. That turned out pretty well.”

 

■ On the naysayers: “People criticized us and said, ‘Do you realize you’re going to be going up against the ABC, NBC and CBS evening news? They control 93% of the audience. How are you going to get noticed?’ I said we’re going to go for the other 7%. Well, I think it may now be more than 7% today.”

 

One other story shared by Rasmussen: ESPN mainstay Chris Berman started a month after the network went on the air. ESPN offered him $16,000, to which Berman attempted a counter. Since he was already working nearby, he said, the network wouldn’t need to pay his moving expenses so could they offer $16,500? ESPN turned it down, but Berman signed regardless and continues there today.

■ On the early challenges of selling advertising: “We had a lot of brilliant minds working on this in the early days. In one moment of insanity we had sat down and figured out if we had eight sponsors at $2,760,000 each … we could make this work and pay off any debt we incurred.” (Editor’s note: Anheuser-Busch heard the pitch and offered $500,000, which ESPN turned down. A-B returned with a $1,380,000 counter and became ESPN’s first exclusive sponsor.)

  

■ On the qualities of the culture that remain: “The overall culture then was we want to win. We’re the best. We’re going to be the best. It still is.”

 

■ On his battle with Parkinson’s disease: “Wouldn’t it be great if we could, the same way ESPN conquered sports and has millions and millions of people talking sports … if we could turn that same kind of enthusiasm, experience and absolute can-do attitude to raise money until we get this problem solved?”

 

■ On his advice to those working for the new ACC Network: “I have a really, really simple approach to life. Always be curious about what you’re doing. Never, never be complacent. You’ll win. It’s that simple.”

 

■ On his pride in founding ESPN: “I’m proud of it all, not only the people, but the reaction of the fans, everywhere I go. I don’t go and talk about ESPN, but somebody will say, ‘I saw this game’ or ‘What did you think of that game?’ And inevitably somebody will say, ‘Weren’t you involved in ESPN?’ … Just to walk through an airport and to see everyone glued to the set and see ESPN, that’s pretty cool. They don’t know who I am. I’m just another passenger. But I smile when I see that.”

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