Animal Planet Announces New and Returning Partnerships for Puppy Bowl XIX

PUPPY BOWL XIX returns on Sunday, February 12 at 2PM ET/11AM PT, and for the first time will be simulcast across Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, TBS, HBO Max, and discovery+ – a rare opportunity for new audiences to experience the original and longest running call-to-adoption TV event. The game features 122 puppy players from 67 shelters across 34 U.S. states, showcasing more puppies, shelters, and rescues and inspiring adoption stories than ever before as the players from Team Ruff and Team Fluff take to the field in the Puppy Bowl stadium to win the Wayfair “Lombarky” trophy.

Animal Planet has paired with marketing and multiplatform partners to create opportunities across all screens for fans to join in on the Puppy Bowl fun. Puppy Bowl‘s partners, dedicated to amplifying this year’s game and ongoing message of supporting animal adoption, include new and returning brands, including Pooch Perks, Bark Social, Val Pak, Southwest Airlines®, Grounds & Hounds Coffee Co., and Georgetown Cupcake. Additionally, Multi-Platform collaborations create all new opportunities for Puppy Bowl fans to interact with Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, WeRateDogs, Georgia Aquarium, and Los Angeles-based animal shelter Paw Works.

“For almost 20 years, Puppy Bowl has long been the biggest celebration of pet adoption. Now fueled by the power of Warner Bros. Discovery, the event is bigger than ever. Simulcast across five different brands and platforms, consumers and partners alike have more opportunities to be a part of Puppy Bowl both on and off the screen. In addition to watching the big game, fans also get to experience Puppy Bowl through our exciting partnerships, but most important is that everything we do helps to reach the ultimate goal of finding forever homes for these amazing pets,” said Karen Bronzo, Chief Marketing Officer, U.S. Networks Group, Warner Bros. Discovery.

This year’s Puppy Bowl partners include:

· Pooch Perks – Pooch Perks, the #1 monthly dog box in America is proud to announce its partnership for Puppy Bowl XIX. In collaboration, a special selection of toys and treats have been curated to complement both Puppy Bowl and the month of LOVE as we head into February. Each Pooch Perks Puppy Bowl Box comes with the official Puppy Bowl XIX bandana, football & valentines themed toys, and yummy treats and toys for playing catch, fetch, and tug that both pooches and owners will enjoy while watching Puppy Bowl.

· Bark Social – Bark Social, the premier social club for dogs and dog lovers, will be hosting Puppy Bowl XIX watch parties on Sunday, February 12 from 12:00PM to 4:00PM ET at their Bethesda and Baltimore locations. The indoor/outdoor venues include off-leash dog parks, fully-stocked beer gardens, first of its kind retail experiences, “Bark Rangers” to look after your pups, and bars that offer food + drinks for humans and dogs alike. Come cheer for Team Ruff or Team Fluff with your furry best friend while grabbing a drink, playing games, winning prizes, and enjoying delicious bites with lots of chances for social media-worthy moments. Attendees can even go home with their own new MVP from one of the on-site adoption experiences! More details to come at www.barksocial.com or @bark_social.

· Val Pak- Look out for your Valpak envelope in the mail for your chance to win $10000 in the Valpak HGTV Married to Real Estate Sweepstakes. Each Valpak envelope also comes with a Puppy Bowl XIX coloring sheet where you can decide whether you belong on Team Ruff or Team Fluff! (NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. A PURCHASE WILL NOT IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. YOU HAVE NOT YET WON. Void where prohibited. Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and D.C., who are 18 years of age or older, or the age of majority in their state of residence, whichever is older. Sweepstakes begins 1/4/23 and ends 2/14/23. Approximate retail value of the Grand Prize is $10,000. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received. See complete Official Rules for entry instructions, full prize description, restrictions, and other important details. Sponsored by Valpak Direct Marketing Systems, LLC., 1 Valpak Avenue N, St Petersburg, FL 33716.)

· Southwest – Those flying on Southwest Airlines® during the month of February can enjoy Puppy Bowl content via the Inflight Entertainment Portal. Be sure to check out Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl On Demand TV Channel to watch past Puppy Bowl favorite games and moments, including Puppy Bowl XVIII, and an exclusive video, “Journey to Puppy Bowl,” which follows three puppies from Lifeline Puppy Rescue outside of Denver as they fly on Southwest to the cutest game in sports. Want to bring your own four-legged friend with you onboard? Southwest allows small dogs and cats to travel in-cabin in an approved carrier. To learn more, please visit Southwest.com/Pets.

· Grounds & Hounds Coffee Co. – On Saturday, February 4, Animal Planet, Annenberg PetSpace, and Grounds & Hounds Coffee Co. hosted a special “Pup Rally,” which was a day full of fun with football-themed activities which was open to the public! Residents of the Greater Los Angeles area brought their fuzzy faced best friends to enjoy several dog agility drills & games, complimentary Grounds & Hounds ‘Puppy Bowl Blend’ coffee, snacks, prize giveaways, and more. Best of all, every dog that attended the ‘Pup Rally’ received an official Puppy Bowl XIX gameday bandana to show off their support for ‘Team Ruff’ or ‘Team Fluff’ in the highly anticipated televised event. Grounds & Hounds x Puppy Bowl blends are available at www.groundsandhoundscoffee.com.

· Georgetown Cupcake – Celebrate this year’s Puppy Bowl with delicious Puppy Bowl-themed cupcakes from Georgetown Cupcake! This year, Georgetown Cupcake’s Puppy Bowl XIX Dozen includes 3 Chocolate & Bright Blue Buttercream cupcakes, 2 Chocolate & Chocolate Buttercream Puppy Face cupcakes, 2 Chocolate & Green Grass Buttercream cupcakes, 3 Vanilla & Orange Buttercream cupcakes, and 2 Salted Caramel Puppy Face cupcakes, decorated with Puppy Bowl-themed fondant. Available for nationwide overnight shipping on georgetowncupcake.com.

· WeRateDogs – Animal Planet is partnering with WeRateDogs, a popular influencer account with over 18M followers, and their charitable organization, 15/10 Foundation. This non-profit sponsors shelter dogs with medical needs and pays for any necessary medical expenses in an effort to make them more adoptable. Two Puppy Bowl dogs from the starting lineup of players have been chosen by 15/10 Foundation for coverage of medical expenses. WeRateDogs is developing social videos and other content to share these pups’ stories with its audiences across social.

· Georgia Aquarium – Through a long-standing content partnership with Atlanta’s Georgia Aquarium, local shelter puppies “toured” the aquarium, dolphins are getting in on the Puppy Bowl fun with footballs, and resident penguins were enriched with gameday themed activities. Georgia Aquarium is developing original social videos to share these activation with its audiences across social.

· Paw Works – Animal Planet is partnering with Los Angeles-based rescue Paw Works to produce five days of YouTube livestreams which will air daily on Animal Planet’s YouTube channel in the week leading up to Puppy Bowl XIX. Content will include seeing the dogs fueling up for the big game with a mukbang, getting pumped up with a puppy training course, and more.

· The Daily Show‘s @DailyShowDogs is partnering with Puppy Bowl for the third year! The popular Instagram account features dogs belonging to staffers of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show as well as adorable dogs up for adoption from animal shelters in the New York City area and across the U.S. This year, the Daily Show Dogs will introduce Puppy Bowl fans to their roster of dogs who will be supporting players from both Team Ruff and Team Fluff.

Multi-platform elements for Puppy Bowl XIX can be found on PuppyBowl.com, including photo galleries, Meet the Players-style videos, and adoption page for furry friends in need of a home. Additionally, the “Pupularity Playoffs” bracket returns for the third consecutive year as fans vote on the Most Pupular player in the starting lineup. Following a month of on-air placements and social promotion, the winner of the bracket will be revealed in the pre-game show on Animal Planet. PuppyBowl.com also host the real-time vote for the game’s Most Valuable Player as they tune-in. Fans will be able to cast their vote and select which pup from the starting line-up gets these bragging right and the winner will be announced at the end of the game.

Puppy Bowl superfans can also show their team spirit using Puppy Bowl stickers/GIFs pack that are available on GIPHY and in-app on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and more. These are designed to add game day flair to viewers’ social posts, texts, and emails. Two new AR filters were also created for Animal Planet’s Effect Libraries on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. A forehead randomizer titled “Choose Your Player” allows viewers to select which Puppy Bowl player from the starting line-up they can root for. The second AR experience titled “Puppy Bowl Gameday” creates an immersive experience, placing a viewer on the Puppy Bowl field for a touchdown and being chased by a gaggle of puppy players.

In addition, an Instagram Live Scrimmage on Animal Planet’s account will be available on the Saturday before during the big game to get audiences primed for Sunday. Other game day coverage includes Puppy Bowl personality Meep the Bird sharing game day commentary and Warner Bros. Discovery social media coverage of the game from brands that include Discovery Channel, TBS, Food Network, and HBO.

PUPPY BOWL XIX is produced for Animal Planet by Bright Spot Content, an All3Media America company.