Dish Dropping ESPN Classic From Channel Lineup In Exchange For VOD Service

Dish Network launches ESPN Classic On-Demand today and will drop the linear channel. The service will have 600 hours of programming and will be anchored by college football (200+ games) and college basketball (50+ games). Dish Network customers that subscribe to a tier that carries ESPN have access to the VOD service. A digital content offering through WatchESPN will launch early next year. The move to VOD signals the end to a channel that ESPN bought from a group including Brian Bedol for $175M in '97. Five years ago, ESPN turned the channel into a sports tier channel, swapping out carriage for ESPNU. It currently is in 27 million homes, according to Nielsen's most recent numbers (John Ourand, Staff Writer). An ESPN spokesperson did not give a time frame "as to when the linear network ... would be converted to on-demand with other carriers." ESPN Classic was in 64 million homes "when it was swapped for ESPNU." It was unknown what Dish "would do with the vacated channel position" (MULTICHANNEL.com, 10/1).