ESPN founder Bill Rasmussen died Tuesday at the age of 93, prompting the network he helped create to look back on the extraordinary gamble that eventually became a fixture of American sports television.
Unfortunately for ESPN, one of its on-air tributes did not go according to plan.
During Tuesday’s edition of “First Take,” the network displayed an image honoring Rasmussen. But the segment was abruptly interrupted when ESPN transitioned to “The Pat McAfee Show,” with McAfee apparently having no idea that he was stepping on a tribute to the network’s founder.
“Hello, beautiful people,” McAfee said as his program began.
Then his show continued as usual.
There was no indication McAfee intentionally interrupted the tribute or even knew that anything had gone wrong. Live television operates according to tightly controlled schedules, with producers, directors and hosts coordinating segments down to the second.
Somewhere in that process, however, ESPN managed to cut short its own tribute to the man without whom there might never have been an ESPN.
ESPN founder Bill Rasmussen, whose out-of-the-box idea of a 24-hour cable sports network forever changed the landscape of sports media, died today at the age of 93.
A game-changer for the ages. Thank you for everything, Bill ❤️ pic.twitter.com/hOCy8QyUEo
— ESPN (@espn) August 18, 2026
The timing made the production mistake particularly conspicuous.
Rasmussen was not simply a former executive or familiar television personality. He was one of the people responsible for conceiving the idea of a national, 24-hour sports television network at a time when the proposition seemed enormously risky.
ESPN’s own obituary recounted how Rasmussen and his son Scott initially considered a Connecticut-based sports operation before developing the concept into something much larger.
“With son Scott, Rasmussen conceived of the initial idea of ESPN — first, as solely a Connecticut venture, and then as a 24-hour national sports network,” ESPN reported.
The idea emerged during the late 1970s, when cable television was still developing and an around-the-clock channel devoted exclusively to sports was far from an obvious business opportunity.
Rasmussen had recently lost his job as communications director for the New England Whalers. Rather than retreating to something safer, he put his own money behind the idea.
“In the late 1970s, not many people thought an around-the-clock cable sports network had any chance,” ESPN wrote. “Bill Rasmussen, who had just been fired as communications director of the New England Whalers, was one of them.”
According to the network, Rasmussen maxed out a credit card and used a $9,000 advance to secure valuable satellite capacity.
ESPN eventually launched on Sept. 7, 1979.
ESPN’s tribute to Bill Rasmussen at the end of ‘First Take’ was cut off by the beginning of ‘The Pat McAfee Show’: pic.twitter.com/uM2oVNywXj
— Sports TV News & Updates (@TVSportsUpdates) August 18, 2026
What began as a considerable financial gamble developed into one of the best-known brands in sports media, eventually offering continuous coverage of professional and college athletics while obtaining broadcast rights to some of the biggest sporting events in the country.
The network Rasmussen founded has changed substantially over the decades.
ESPN expanded far beyond its original channel, developed additional networks and digital properties and became deeply intertwined with the economics of major American sports. It has also endured repeated criticism from viewers over its programming choices, political commentary and the increasing prominence of debate-driven shows such as “First Take.”
McAfee represents another stage in that evolution. ESPN brought his independently developed sports-talk program to the network in 2023, making his outspoken, freewheeling presentation a major part of its daytime schedule.
None of that appears to have had anything directly to do with Tuesday’s interruption. From what was shown on air, the incident looked like a transition or production mistake rather than an intentional slight by McAfee.
Rasmussen, meanwhile, died at his Florida home from complications of Parkinson’s disease, according to ESPN.
