Sports Junkies Rejoice is the fast-paced account of an incredible 14 month journey that led to the September 7, 1979 launch of ESPN. Bill Rasmussen introduces you to all the players that made it possible and shares with you the frustrations, tensions, emotions and excitement from concept to launch! When ESPN debuted on September 7th at 7:00 PM, there were no 24 hour networks. The "Big Three" ABC, CBS, NBC did not broadcast from 1:00 - 7:00 AM. HBO was live only five hours nightly. CNN and FNC hadn't yet begun to blanket us with news 24/7. As for MTV, The Weather Channel, The Discovery Channel, The History Channel and many others - they all came later. Over 90% of all cable systems in America had only 12 channels available and with over 50 new channels proposed ESPN led the way and became America's first 24 / 7 cable network. In 1979, Sports Illustrated opined, "ESPN may become the biggest thing in TV Sports since Monday Night Football and nighttime World Series Games." How prophetic! Pursuing the American Dream with tenacity, entrepreneurial daring and fierce determination, using the tools of the day, we launched ESPN. Here's to you sports junkies . . . Rejoice! "Only Bill Rasmussen can take you back, back, back, back to the beginning of the greatest success story in the history of sports television. His ideas, his enthusiasm, his fierce determination and belief in success changed the way we all watch television and televised sports today." Chris Berman, ESPN "You were a man ahead of your time! A Genius - God Bless!" Dick Vitale, ESPN "Bill Rasmussen dramatically altered and elevated the world of sports. What he did changed the landscape of TV sports." Sports Illustrated - Forty for the Ages Fortieth Anniversary - 1994 "The Father of Cable Sports" USA Today , 1994 "What we're creating here is a network for sports junkies. This is not a network for the soft-core sports fans who like to watch the NFL and then switch to the news." Scott Rasmussen Co-founder, ESPN When ESPN debuted at 7:00 PM, September 7, 1979, there were no 24 hour networks. The "Big Three" ABC, CBS, NBC did not broadcast from 1:00 - 7:00 AM. HBO was live only five hours nightly. CNN and FNC hadn't yet begun to blanket us with news 24/7. As for MTV, The Weather Channel, The Discovery Channel, The History Channel - you name it - they all came later. As a matter of fact, well over 90% of all cable systems in America had only 12 channels of programming space available in 1979 so the competition to place programming (no matter how good the provider thought it might be) was fierce. Bill Rasmussen is a life long entrepreneur and passionate sports fan. Used Book in Good Condition