A number of major providers, such as AT&T, Altice USA, Comcast, and Verizon Fios dropped ESPN Classic in the years that followed.

Throughout its history, dating back to its existence as Classic Sports Network, the channel's logo has incorporated a stylized silhouette intending to resemble a boxer.

An analyst quoted in the report suggested a merger of NFL Network with ESPN Classic due to the latter's wide distribution on expanded basic cable tiers.

[5] In December 2017, cable companies Comcast Xfinity and Altice USA dropped the ESPN Classic linear channel from their TV lineups.

Spectrum, as part of their newest Disney agreement approved in August 2019, began dropping ESPN Classic from their systems on October 15, 2019.

On November 30, 2019, DirecTV and AT&T U-verse removed the network from their lineup as the contract for carriage expired without renewal after resolving a dispute earlier in the year with The Walt Disney Company.

[9] On November 4, 2021, John Ourand of Sports Business Journal reported that Disney had informed cable and satellite providers that ESPN Classic, including its associated on-demand service, would close at the end of 2021.

As of May 20, 2012, ESPN Classic was the last remaining ESPN-branded network and the only cable channel owned by Disney that does not operate a high definition simulcast feed, due to the majority of its content being vintage footage produced before the existence of high-definition television; outside of specific programming available in widescreen, the channel aired all programming in the 4:3 aspect ratio, and it used the safe area-restricted "BottomLine" sports news ticker previously used by ESPN on ABC broadcasts on sister network ABC until August 2016 when it switched to a 16:9 presentation.

The network's VOD component was launched for existing subscribers using Apple TV and Roku devices through WatchESPN on April 28, 2016, likely under a modified license to allow content distribution via that platform.

ESPN Classic used the feeds from the arena's in-house cameras, normally used to allow highlights to be displayed on Jumbotron screens, and the original play-by-play and commentary from A&M's radio broadcasters to create a complete telecast.

Beginning in the mid-2000s, ESPN Classic aired a series of specials counting down the greatest teams in the history of certain sports, as determined by fan balloting.

ESPN Classic was parodied in a recurring series of Saturday Night Live sketches introduced in 2009, which depicted archived broadcasts of obscure women's sports events from the 1980s; however, commentators Pete Twinkle and Greg Stink (Jason Sudeikis and Will Forte) consistently know nothing about the sports, and instead focused on promoting the absurdly-exaggerated sponsors, which are always women's hygiene products.