Those guys had all the fun — and now they’re letting us in on it.
ESPN has produced a documentary film taking viewers back to the pioneering cable channel’s creation in the late ’70s, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. Sports Heaven: The Birth of ESPN, will premiere on April 6 at 8:30 p.m. ET on, well, ESPN.
The trailer is available below.
You cannot tell the tale of ESPN without its founder, Bill Rasmussen. He’s here, as is son Scott and their earliest partners in the 24/7 sports venture, which was deemed crazy at the time.
“With the NCAA playing such an important role in ESPN’s birth, I’m delighted our origin story will air this year at the cap of March Madness,” said Bill Rasmussen. “The film accurately captures the amazing story and fans will love it. My thanks to ESPN for their support in the production and all the pioneers who shared their stories. I am looking forward to watching it nearly fifty years after we created it.”
“Imagine someone challenging you to start a new television network in an industry you know very little about, with no money, no programming, and no advertisers — and somehow turn it into one of the most recognizable brands in the world,” said director Greg DeHart. “Bill and Scott Rasmussen did exactly that in just 14 months. We’re grateful ESPN entrusted us with the opportunity to tell the remarkable and improbable story of how this bold idea became a network that transformed sports media.”
In 1978, after being fired from his position with the New England Whalers of the World Hockey Association, Bill Rasmussen conceptualized a TV network that would broadcast sports all day, every day. If only he had oil money…
From a nowhere place called Bristol in Connecticut, Rasmussen and a small team secured the financial backing of Getty Oil, which bought them satellite distribution technology and a critical deal with the NCAA.
ESPN launched on September 7, 1979 with a mix of lesser-known sports highlights, as well as full games and studio programming. To borrow from a better-known sport that ESPN did not have, this was no home run. Or slam dunk. Or pretty much any analogy for scoring in a major contest usually reserved for broadcast television.
We’ve come a long way, baby. These days, ESPN is looking beyond cable. Sure, the delivery system is still a major revenue stream and distribution method, but what was once new is now quite ancient, and digital is where it’s at. To that end, ESPN launched its new app, titled (wait for it) ESPN, on August 21, 2025. The new ESPN app, which includes everything the brand’s cable channels has to offer and then some, costs $29.99 per month.
Sports Heaven: The Birth of ESPN, titled after the first words uttered on ESPN (“If you’re a fan, what you’ll see in the next minutes, hours and days to follow may convince you you’ve gone to sports heaven.” — Lee Leonard), features interviews with the Rasmussens, Chuck Pagano, Mary Walton, George Grande, George Conner, Geoff Bray, Rosa Gatti, George Bodenheimer, Chris Berman, Bob Ley, Jimmy Pitaro, Mike Soltys, Josh Krulewitz, Howard Baldwin, Dennis Randall, Ken Boudreau, Mike Buckler, Al Parinello, John Leone, Greg Wyatt and J.B. Doherty.
Soltys, an ESPN historian, also produces. The film is produced by Tenero Productions; Garrett Sutton serves as executive producer.
