Approximately 100 million people gather in front of their TVs each February two watch two football teams grudge it out in the final match toward Super Bowl fame. About two million other viewers will tune into the Puppy Bowl instead — the fluffy, cuddly alternative where rambunctious young canines wrestle over chew toys and raise awareness for animal adoption across the United States. Watching these furry friends may not be the height of athletic competition, but they sure put on quite a show. Best of all, you don't have to have cable to watch the Puppy Bowl XVIII, you can stream it using one of the streaming services in this guide.
When Is the Puppy Bowl and Where Can You Watch It?
Typically, the Puppy Bowl airs opposite the Super Bowl to serve as an alternative for non-football fans. Coming back as hosts for a second year, Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart will be commentating and serving as team coaches while simultaneously promoting 150 adoptable dogs from animal shelters all over the country. This year, as every year in the past, you can find the Puppy Bowl airing on the Animal Planet channel.
- What's the event: Puppy Bowl XVIII
- When's the Puppy Bowl: 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT on February 13
- What are the teams: Team Ruff vs. Team Fluff
- What channel: Animal Planet
Hulu + Live TV is one of three tiers of streaming services that Hulu provides. It features an impressive channel lineup, including Animal Planet, the yearly network host of the Puppy Bowl.
While you can’t exactly call the Puppy Bowl a sporting event (I will anyways …), fuboTV — the streaming service known for sports programming — is one way you can tune in to the Puppy Bowl this year on the Animal Planet channel.
If you want a live TV streaming service without all the fluff of normal cable channels, then Philo has everything you need and a bit more. With Animal Planet on its extensive channel listings, Philo is a great streaming service to catch Puppy Bowl XVIII this year.
YouTube TV
The Cadillac of streaming services, YouTube TV is packed full of everyone’s favorite channels, including Animal Planet — the channel that produces the Puppy Bowl each year.
Discovery Plus
The Animal Planet channel — producers of the Puppy Bowl each year, is owned by the Discovery Network, which launched its own streaming platform, Discovery Plus, in January of 2021. Subscribe to Discovery Plus, and you’ll enjoy access to 23 different Discovery-owned channels, as well.
Can I Watch the Puppy Bowl on Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, or Chromecast?
Not sure if your streaming device is compatible with one of the many options listed above? Don’t worry! No matter what streaming device you have, be it a Fire TV, Chromecast, or anything in between, most streaming services go hand in hand with these devices without difficulty. Here’s the rundown:
| Roku | Fire TV | Apple TV | Android TV | Chromecast | iOS | Android | Browser | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hulu + Live TV | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| fuboTV | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Philo | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| YouTube TV | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
More to Watch for Animal Lovers
If you love puppies and other creatures with four legs, check out a few other streaming options. The National Geographic channel has a load of animal-filled programming from all over the world that entertains and educates.
Another popular must-see for animal lovers is Shark Week, a one-week shark-filled extravaganza of TV viewing on the Discovery channel every July or August. Shark Week is a programming feature you won’t want to miss if you’re a big fan of underwater creatures as terrestrial ones.