Animal Planet Scores Big With Eight Million Viewers During Annual PUPPY BOWL Eve

February 5, 2008

(Silver Spring, Md.) Animal Planet’s PUPPY BOWL IV scored a Giant win on Sunday with a ratings touchdown drawing in more than 8 million unique P2+ viewers during the PUPPY BOWL marathon from 3 PM – 3 AM (ET/PT). Bringing together the cuteness of puppies with the "ruffness" of the gridiron PUPPY BOWL IV recorded its highest ratings ever earning a 0.8 household rating while delivering an average of more than 1.1 million P2+ viewers, which is up 35 percent from the previous year, for the 3-6 PM (ET/PT) premiere telecast. In the key P25-54 demographic, PUPPY BOWL IV earned a record 0.5 rating making it Animal Planet’s highest rated telecast in the last year among adults. PUPPY BOWL IV also plunged into the end zone for Animalplanet.com helping to bring in 168,629 daily unique visitors on Sunday – its highest levels since the passing of Steve Irwin in September 2006.

"The success of PUPPY BOWL IV is a fantastic way to kick-off the Animal Planet rebrand, and we are thrilled those adorable puppies and kittens were part of a great day in entertainment," says Marjorie Kaplan, president and general manager for Animal Planet Media. "PUPPY BOWL IV marked the unveiling of our new logo and just scratched the surface of the stellar programming we have in store for the network."

PUPPY BOWL IV is Animal Planet’s answer to the Super Bowl™ giving viewers the chance to get into a different game with tackles, fumbles and fouls from playful pups that just can’t get enough of the action. The "game" takes place in Animal Planet Stadium’s custom football field and features an array of puppies including everything from baby beagles to mini dachshunds to mixed breeds as they give their all to make the big plays. Many of the cute canines are adoptable and come from Washington, D.C., area shelters. For all the feline fans, there is the BISSELL KITTY HALF-TIME SHOW featuring lively kittens showing off their moves on a glittery stage and chasing each other around the field. For the first time, PUPPY BOWL IV was broadcast in high-definition.

Animal Planet Media (APM), a multi-media business unit of Discovery Communications, connects humans and animals with rich, deep content via multiple platforms and offers animal lovers and pet owners access to a centralized online, television and mobile community for entertainment, information and enrichment. APM consists of the Animal Planet television network, available in more than 94 million homes in the US; online assets www.animalplanet.com, the ultimate online destination for all things animal; the 24/7 broadband channel, Animal Planet Beyond; Petfinder.com, the #1 pet-related Web property globally that facilitates pet adoption; PetsIncredible, a major producer and distributor of pet-training videos and includes web service PetVideo.com; and other media platforms including a robust Video-on-Demand (VOD) service; mobile content; and merchandising extensions.