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:''For the Canadian channel of this name, see ESPN Classic (Canada). For the British channel, see ESPN Classic (UK). For the Italian channel, see ESPN Classic (Italy).'' ESPN Classic is an American digital cable and satellite television network that is owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Corporation (which owns 20%). The channel features rebroadcasts of famous sporting events, sports documentaries and sports-themed movies. Such programs include biographies of famous sports figures or a rerun of a marquee World Series or Super Bowl game, often with added commentary on the event. As of February 2015, ESPN Classic is available to approximately 25,516,000 television households (21.9% of households with at least one television set) in the United States. On October 1, 2014, ESPN Classic began a gradual transition into a video on demand-only service, with Dish Network becoming the first to discontinue carriage of the linear channel and carry it as a VOD service on that date. Other providers will follow suit on an unknown timetable.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.fiercecable.com/story/espn-classic-becomes-demand-channel-dish-network/2014-10-01?utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss&utm_campaign=rss )〕 ==History== The channel was launched in 1995 as the Classic Sports Network; it was founded by Brian Bedol and Steve Greenberg (son of Hank Greenberg), both of whom went on to launch College Sports Television (now CBS Sports Network)), with partial funding from Allen & Company. In 1997, ESPN, Inc. purchased Classic Sports Network for $175 million and relaunched it as ESPN Classic the following year. 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. In February 2008, ''The Wall Street Journal'' reported that NFL Network chief executive Steve Bornstein had been in "high-level discussions" with NFL and Disney executives including CEO Robert Iger and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. 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. Though a consolidation of the two channels did not materialize, ESPN's networks and NFL Network would begin to share programming (for instance, an episode of ''NFL's Greatest Games'' may air on NFL Network one night, then air on ESPN2 the next). Eventually however, NFL Network was able to obtain full carriage on most providers on its own by the middle of the 2012 season, no longer necessitating a need to merge the two channels. On August 4, 2009, Dish Network filed a federal lawsuit against ESPN for $1 million, alleging that the network breached its contract by not extending the same contractual term of carriage that ESPN provided to Comcast and DirecTV for ESPNU and ESPN Classic. The lawsuit claimed that ESPN violated the "Most Favored Nations" clause.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.multichannel.com/article/326537-Dish_Sues_ESPN_Over_Classic_ESPNU_Carriage_Terms.php )〕 The following day, representatives for ESPN announced in a press release that the company would fight the lawsuit, stating: "We have repeatedly advised Dish that we are in full compliance with our agreement and have offered them a distribution opportunity with respect to ESPNU and ESPN Classic consistent with the rest of the industry. We will not renegotiate settled contracts and will vigorously defend this legal action, the apparent sole purpose of which is to get a better deal."〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.multichannel.com/article/326582-ESPN_We_ll_Fight_Dish_Lawsuit.php )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「ESPN Classic」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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