[8] Classic Media was founded by Eric Ellenbogen and John Engelman in May 2000 after acquiring the United Productions of America (UPA) catalog and assets from the estate of Henry Saperstein.

[5] Frank Biondi, the former head of Universal Studios, and film producer Steve Tisch invested in the company.

[9][10] On August 16, 2001, Classic Media and Random House won a joint bid for the assets of Western Publishing, with Classic Media acquiring the entertainment division (including the Dell Comics and Gold Key Comics libraries[11]) and Random House acquiring the Little Golden Books publishing properties.

[3][4] On February 20, 2010, Classic Media purchased the then-upcoming manga-inspired television series My Life Me from the bankrupt TV-Loonland AG.

On October 3, 2012, Classic Media made its first post-DreamWorks sale by securing licensing and distribution rights to Studio Hari's The Owl & Co outside of France and other French-speaking territories.

[8] In January 2020, Classic Media pre-sold streaming rights to three series; Lassie, George of the Jungle and Mr. Magoo, by CBS All Access (now as Paramount+).