Now Available on Amazon’s Kindle, the Amazing inside Story “Sports Junkies Rejoice! The Birth of ESPN” by ESPN Founder Bill Rasmussen

Philadelphia, PA – March 1, 2011 – With college basketball’s season of “madness” fast approaching, the true, inside story of the beginning of ESPN is now available for the very first time on Amazon’s Kindle. The new e-book edition is readable on the Kindle as well as personal computers and smart phones.

“Sports Junkies Rejoice! The Birth of ESPN” is the inside story of how ESPN came to be, by the man who had the dream, ESPN Founder Bill Rasmussen.

The new paperback edition of the book is available through ESPNFounder.com and bookstores everywhere, including Amazon.com.

The new Kindle edition of Sports Junkies Rejoice! The Birth of ESPN” is available at ESPNFounder.com and also at Amazon.com (no Kindle required).

“Only Bill Rasmussen can take you back, back, back, back to the beginning of the greatest success story in the history of sports television,” said longtime ESPN anchor Chris Berman. “His ideas, his enthusiasm, his fierce determination and belief in success changed the way we all watch television and televised sports today.”

Some of the secrets revealed in Rasmussen’s book include the circumstances under which he had the inspiration for ESPN, how he financed the first few months of the company, how many times people told him “no” along the way, and, perhaps the biggest mystery, why ESPN is based in Bristol, Connecticut.

“Sports Junkies Rejoice! The Birth of ESPN” is Rasmussen’s personal account of the launch of the Worldwide Leader in Sports. On September 7, 1979, ESPN went on the air for the first time. Entrepreneurial daring, irrepressible enthusiasm and a dash of good luck gave the world the first 24-hour television network. Once unleashed upon sports fans, ESPN’s impact forever changed the way we watch television.

Rasmussen’s book is the real insider’s account from the man who changed the landscape of television and sports forever. Imagine a world without ESPN, without 24-hour television channels, and a world of only three television networks. That was the television landscape before Rasmussen’s revolutionary brainstorm, born of adversity and launched despite the odds.

Named “The Father of Cable Sports” by USA Today, Rasmussen was named to The Sports 100, honoring the 100 most important people in American Sports History. His place in sports history was further recognized by Sports Illustrated in 1994, when he was honored as one of the “Forty for the Ages,” one of 40 individuals who has significantly altered and elevated the world of sport.

On March 30th, Rasmussen will be honored as one of the 2011 class of The Champions: Pioneers & Innovators in Sports Business, an award from the Sports Business Journal and the Sports Business Daily recognizing the architects and builders of sports, during a special ceremony at the IMG World Congress of Sports in Miami.

Additional information is available at http://www.ESPNFounder.com.

Media Contact: Jim DeLorenzo, Jim DeLorenzo Public Relations,
Phone: 215-266-5943, E-mail: jim@jhdenterprises.com