It is time once again for the biggest sporting event of the year. The one that sees legs churning up and down the field. Water sloshed as hydration is more important than ever. Occasional, erm, flags left on the field.
It’s time for Puppy Bowl XX.
The 20th iteration of the annual event (that, no, isn’t actually part of Super Bowl 2024, but it does help raise find pets new homes) is back and better than ever. The three-hour event will have some 131 pups from 73 shelters across 36 states. And this year will feature the smallest dog ever to “compete” — Sweetpea weighs in at just 1.7 pounds. Hopefully, he’s not on the field at the same time as Levi, though — that’d be a bit of a mismatch with the 72-pound Great Dane.
The Puppy Bowl begins at 1 p.m. Eastern (that’s 11 a.m. on the West Coast) and will be broadcast simultaneously on Animal Planet, Discovery, TBS, and truTV. And that means that if you have an existing cable or linear streaming subscription — like, say, to YouTube TV — then you’re good to go. And it’ll all be over in time for the Super Bowl itself. (Though we’d really push for the Puppy Bowl to take over for the Super Bowl Halftime Show.)
If you’re looking for the Puppy Bowl on a streaming solution, it’ll be on Max and Discovery+.
Puppy Bowl XX continues its push for inclusiveness. Six special-needs dogs will be on the field, including Riddle, a pug terrier who suffers from the neurological condition cerebellar hypoplasia; Mr. Bean, a papillon who only has his two hind legs; and four pups who don’t let their deafness slow them down.
This year’s event is going to be even more wild as the puppies are (somehow) taking over the production of the show. You’ll see them working the cameras and lighting, directing from the control room, and managing the studio floor. They’re even coaching the teams.
Puppy Bowl referee Dan Schachner is back for his 13th year, too, and this time, he’ll have an assistant — Whistle, of course — helping with the calls.
