Former Hallmark Channel head Bill Abbott is taking another page from his old network’s playbook by planning a Great American Rescue Bowl opposite next year’s Super Bowl on his new network GAC Family.

Hallmark Channel has run a Kitten Bowl since 2014 but canceled it this year. Responding to a viewer asking about the Kitten Bowl on Facebook, the network said, “We are not currently developing original animal-centric programming.” 

Abbott and GAC jumped in to fill the void.

“The plight of animal homelessness continues to be pervasive throughout the country, so being able to televise a proven difference maker in helping pets find their forever homes was an easy decision,” said Abbott. “We’re incredibly proud to welcome Great American Rescue Bowl to GAC Family and are excited about this massive, fan-favorite event being an annual anchor to the network’s pet-centric programming.”

Since buying Great American Country and turning it into GAC Family, Abbott has mirrored the programming on Hallmark, loading the Christmas season with holiday movies, many featuring familiar Hallmark Channel faces.

The Great American Rescue Bowl will be hosted by another familiar face, former Kitten Bowl host Beth Stern, wife of radio star Howard Stern and an animal rights activist. 

“I couldn’t be more excited that Great American Rescue Bowl is coming to GAC Family,” said Beth Stern, national spokesperson, North Shore Animal League America.  “Hundreds of shelters across the country have participated throughout the years and tens of thousands of animals have been adopted as a result of these special events. I look forward to continuing the rich tradition of representing our kitten players and saving lives.”

The Kitten Bowl is credited with facilitating more than 75,000 shelter pet adoptions. The Great American Rescue Bowl will be presented in association with North Shore Animal League America.

“We are thrilled that Great American Rescue Bowl and bowl watch parties will be returning in 2023,” said Joanne Yohannan, senior VP, operations, North Shore Animal League America.  “Sharing stories of our lifesaving work and highlighting the beautiful, homeless animals available for adoption in shelters across the country is such a meaningful way to save lives and helps us continue our mission to rescue, nurture, adopt and educate.”   ■ 

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. 

Hallmark Channel cancelled its Wednesday upfront event in New York City due to the nor’easter snowstorm, but that didn’t stop the network from making several programming announcements, including the renewals of its scripted series When Calls the Heart and reality series Meet The Peetes.

Instead of a formal upfront event, the network made the announcements during a Facebook live event from New York's wintery Central Park featuring Hallmark Channel president and CEO Bill Abbott and Hallmark Channel executive vice president of ad sales Ed Georger, as well as actresses Candace Cameron Bure and Danica McKellar.

Hallmark ordered a sixth season of its scripted drama series When Calls the Heart, based on the book of the same name by Janette Oke and starring Erin Krakow, Lori Loughlin and Daniel Lissing.

“Most series experience a ratings decline with age, but When Calls the Heart is bucking that trend thanks to our devoted fans who elevate the show to new levels each year,” said Michelle Vicary, Executive Vice President, Programming and Network Publicity, Crown Media Family Networks in a statement. “The compelling storytelling combined with our captivating cast keeps our viewers engaged and enthusiastic about the saga of Hope Valley, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to continue the journey in season six.”

The network’s freshman reality series Meet The Peetes – which follows the family of former NFL quarterback Rodney Peete and actress Holly Robinson Peete – will return for a second season in 2019, said network officials.

RELATED: 'Meet The Peetes' Bringing Reality, Diversity to Hallmark Channel 

“We look forward to continue sharing the Peetes’ journey as they navigate through life united as a family,” Vicary said.

Hallmark also announced that next February it will add a new Super Bowl Sunday special, Cat Bowl, to complement its annual Kitten Bowl telecast. Cat Bowl, which will feature adult cats plating a feline Hall of Fame game, will debut Feb. 2, prior to the 6th annual Kitten Bowl telecast.

The network said it will also bring back it American Rescue Dog Show event with a second installment airing in February 2019.

On the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries front, the network will premiere three new original movies in 2018, including Crossword Mysteries, Picture Perfect and The Chronicle Mysteries.

Pet lovers will have plenty of animal-themed programming to cuddle up to leading into and following Super Bowl LII this Sunday. 

While the big game between the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles doesn’t officially kick off until 6 p.m. on NBC, viewers can get into the football spirit all afternoon long with Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl and Hallmark Channel’s Kitten Bowl.

The three-hour Kitten Bowl V pet adoption event will premiere at noon on Sunday and will feature displaced kittens rescued from the country’s most recent national disasters seeking the to win the “Feline Football” trophy, according to Hallmark officials. Animal advocate Beth Stern will host the event, with Boomer Esiason calling play-by-play action.

Hallmark will partner with the North Shore Animal League America to host 500 adoption parties for the event, which over its tenure has inspired the adoption of more than 10,000 animals, according to the network.

At 3 p.m. on Sunday, puppies will take the field for Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl XIV. The two-hour special will feature 90 adoptable puppy “players” running around chasing soft footballs and chew toys in a bone-shaped stadium featuring more than a dozen cameras, according to network officials.

Animal Planet has teamed with 48 different animal shelters and rescue organizations from 25 U.S. states and territories to field its lineup of puppies.

Animal Planet will begin the festivities with a Puppy Bowl pre-game show at 2 p.m., said the network. 

After Super Bowl LII is over, animal lovers can tune into Nat Geo Wild for the return of its Safari Live series beginning at 10 p.m. – kicking off a five-day run for the wildlife show. The network will showcae in real time wildlife action from Kenya’s Maasai Mara and South Africa’s iconic Sabi Sands Game Reserve, according to network officials. 

Nat Geo Wild’s Safari Live drew an average of 160,000 viewers for its initial run in 2017.

With a pair of Kitten Bowls in the books, Hallmark Channel's pet adoption outreach efforts will take on global sporting event proportions next year.

The family- and feline-friendly network will host the "Kitten Summer Games" in August 2016.  The programming event, the latest outgrowth of parent company Crown Media Family Network's social initiative, "Pet Project," will showcase hundreds of adoptable kittens in the most competitive “claw down” the sporting world has ever seen. NBCUniversal will be presenting the Summer Olympics from Rio de Janiero from Aug.5-21, 2016.

For the inaugural Kitten Summer Games, Hallmark Channel will schedule competitions for both individuals and groups, include the de-cat-lon, gymnastics, freestyle wrestling, swimming, track and field, balance beam, floor exercises, sprints and many more furrocious kitten sports. The network said young cats from all over the world have been rigorously training and the best will come together and unite in one city to compete in hopes of bringing home a gold medal.

“With an innovative special event like ‘Kitten Summer Games,’ we have the opportunity to not only entertain, but also showcase how extraordinarily talented shelter pets are and how capable they are to compete in a global sporting event equal to their human counterparts,” said Bill Abbott, president and CEO, Crown Media Family Networks.

“With our phenomenal shelter partners, Crown Media Family Networks is having a positive impact on rescuing animals from high kill shelters and significantly increasing the numbers of shelter pet adoptions.  The Gold Medal glory we seek is to end pet homelessness forever."

More than 20 shelter partners of North Shore Animal League America came together to host Kitten Bowl II viewing parties which resulted in hundreds of animals being adopted on Su-Purr Sunday. The Feb.1 event, squaring off against Super Bowl XLIX-related fare on NBC, drew 1.3 million watchers during its premiere window, up 28% from Kitten Bowl I the prior year.

Hallmark Channel hopes many more shelters will host adoption parties around “Kitten Summer Games” with the goal of dramatically increasing pet adoptions.

“Kitten Summer Games” is executive produced by 3 Ball Entertainment’s JD Roth, Todd A. Nelson, Adam Kaloustian and Brant Pinvidic, with Jesse Drollette serving as co-executive producer. 3 Ball Entertainment credits include Extreme Weight Loss (ABC), Bar Rescue (Spike) and My Cat From Hell” (Animal Planet), among others.

Crown Media Family Networks recently rescued and adopted Happy The Cat from a shelter in rural Ohio and Happy The Dog who was abandoned on a street in South Los Angeles.  Both will be featured nationally as Crown Media Family Networks’ ambassadors of “adopt, don’t shop” pet adoption initiatives.