Animal-Themed Content, Live WWE Event Line Up Against ‘Super Bowl LIII’

Non-football fans and pigskin aficionados sick of seeing the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl will have a bevy of other viewing choices before and during Sunday's big game.

In the hours prior to the 6 p.m. start of the Patriots/Los Angeles Rams Super Bowl LIII game on CBS, pet lovers will once again get to choose between watching playful and adoptable adults cats during Hallmark Channel’s 1st Annual Cat Bowl -- which follows the network’s Kitten Bowl VI-- or viewing adorable and adoptable baby canines during Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl XV.

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During the game, viewers can pick up the remote and choose between marathons of such TV shows as The Office (Comedy Central), Planet Earth: Blue Planet (BBC America), Botched (E!), Ridiculousness (MTV), 48 Hours (Investigation Discovery) and The Simpsons (FXX).

The WWE will step into the counterprogramming ring in an effort to draw wrestling fans away from Maroon 5’s Super Bowl halftime performance. The WWE will offer a live, tag-team wrestling performance on its WWE Network subscription streaming service, marking the first time in 20 years the pro wrestling outfit has offered a live match during halftime of a Super Bowl event.

Super Bowl LIII is projected to draw more than 100 million viewers, but there are plenty other viewing choices for the millions of people looking to pass on the big game. 

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.