Puppy Bowl scores big with pregame cuteness

Associated Press

NEW YORK

On Sunday, competitors will race around the field, score touchdowns, slam into each other and bark at their opponents when things get a little rough. Yes, it’s Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl.

The network’s annual cute-a-thon started seven years ago to entice television viewers bored with endless Super Bowl pregame shows and has become one of Animal Planet’s most popular events. The idea is simple: Take a bunch of adorable puppies and film them running around, sniffing and wrestling with each other for two hours.

The Puppy Bowl has a football theme, with the dogs scoring “touchdowns” if they cross a goal line with a chew toy. There’s no such thing as going too far in this sport, which has a “blimp” staffed by hamsters, chickens as cheerleaders and a musical halftime show starring cats.

The two-hour event, which starts at 3 p.m., averaged 1.1 million viewers last year, twice what the network averages in prime time.