Hallmark Cancels 2022 Kitten Bowl, But Puppy Bowl Will Still Air on Animal Planet
Super Bowl Sunday will be significantly less cute this year. Hallmark Channel has canceled the Kitten Bowl, breaking the hearts of feline fanatics everywhere. However, game day won’t be completely devoid of adorableness. The Puppy Bowl, a competing animal-focused event from Animal Planet, will air on Feb. 13.
Hallmark Channel drops the Kitten Bowl from its lineup
Hallmark shared the bad news about the Kitten Bowl on Facebook in early February after one fan noticed the big hole on the channel’s Super Bowl Sunday schedule.
“[W]e are not currently developing original animal-centric programming,” the network shared, adding, “Hallmark Channel is pleased to support partners like North Shore Animal League America as part of our commitment to social responsibility initiatives.”
Hallmark recently donated $25,000 to the North Shore Animal League America as part of the #BettyWhiteChallenge, Joanne Yohannan, the organization’s senior vice president of operations, told Variety.
The Kitten Bowl is one of several familiar Hallmark Channel offerings that have recently disappeared from its lineup. That includes the cancellation of the long-running series Good Witch in July 2021, the end of the daytime talk show Home & Family in August 2021, and the decision to not produce additional episodes of several mystery series for Hallmark Movies & Mysteries.
Will GAC Family adopt the Kitten Bowl?
Though cat-lovers won’t see the Kitten Bowl on TV this year, there’s a chance the program could return in 2023 on a different network. GAC Media – the company behind GAC Family and GAC Living – might acquire the event, Variety reported.
In a Feb. 6 tweet responding the cancellation, Bill Abbott, former Hallmark CEO and current CEO of GAC Media, called the Kitten Bowl “a passion project that everyone involved will always be deeply proud to have been a part of. Grateful we were able to find fur-ever homes for so many.”
“Please continue to support @AnimalLeague in their mission to find all these animals loving homes,” he added.
Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg host the 2022 Puppy Bowl
While the Kitten Bowl is canceled, Animal Planet will air Puppy Bowl XVIII on Sunday, Feb. 13. Team Fluff and Team Ruff will face off in a game hosted by Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg. This year, the pair also take on coaching duties. Snoop hopes to guide Team Fluff to victory, while Stewart aims for a repeat of Team Ruff’s 2021 victory.
“I’m honored to be co-hosting the only sporting event on the planet guaranteed to raise the ‘woof’, with the magnificent Martha Stewart!” Snoop Dogg — who will also perform during the Super Bowl LVI halftime show — said in a statement.
“I’m so excited that Snoop and I are back to kick off Puppy Bowl XVIII, and help a bunch of deserving pups find their forever homes!” Stewart said.
The 2022 Puppy Bowl will air on Animal Planet on Sunday, Feb. 13 at 2 p.m. ET (11 a.m. PT). It will also stream on discovery+.
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