OPINIÃO. Bill Rasmussen, o pai da TV esportiva

Bill Rasmussen, a name seldom recognized in Brazil, deserves greater acclaim. He conceived the idea of broadcasting sports 24 hours a day, every day. Decades later, USA Today would dub him "the father of sports television." Rasmussen, the founder of ESPN, passed away yesterday at the age of 93, leaving behind a business model that underpins every channel, profile, or sports transmission that treats sport as a constant companion, rather than a fleeting event.

Today, ESPN dominates more than 60 countries across all continents and is worth approximately $30 billion. Its origins lie in a credit card overdraft and an idea deemed unfinanceable by everyone. Rasmussen originally created a category, not a profit. Less than a year after airing his idea, he was dismissed from ESPN by the new controller.

He then worked as a consultant for sports rights holders and media companies, participated in other sports and communication ventures, and began sharing his own story through lectures and a book titled "Sports Junkies Rejoice: The Birth of ESPN." Rasmussen's approach to his own journey was straightforward, with a mantra that he carried for life: "The more you work, the luckier you get."

ESPN's pioneering anchor, Chris Berman, summed up Rasmussen's temperament with a statement that serves as a portrait of him: "He wasn't the type to see a glass half full. His was always full to the brink of overflowing with optimism." While he didn't invent radio, closed-circuit TV, streaming, or YouTube, Rasmussen did invent the logic that sustains sports radio, all-sports TV channels, streaming platforms, and dedicated creator channels, each in their own technology, all responding in their own way to the first question he posed.