Was just listening to the Q4 conference call

No. They have specified when asked about “games” and clarified that its a server option. They have told you to “think of it as two separate games” to help people understand why things like transmog won’t transfer to your BFA account:

Pay specific attention to the context they are using these statements in… Or you could just look at the link I posted again where they very specifically stated that classic is a server option… No stuttering, no nothing. It was plainly stated. It merely uses a different client. Im not sure what else you guys expected? Im trying to imagine what you thought was going to happen here…