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Silver Spring, Md. – As fans of ruff and tumble gridiron action across the nation prepare themselves for the biggest annual showdown, PUPPY BOWL IX, on Sunday, February 3, Animal Planet is making sure everyone can get their fill of all the adorable puppy action leading up to, during and after the game. Following a spectacular social performance in 2012, garnering more than 200,000 Tweets, four worldwide trending topics and puppy love from celebrities likeZooey Deschanel, Snooki and Kelly Osbourne, analysts are already predictingthat PUPPY BOWL IX will be routing the competition online.

In a PUPPY BOWL first, Animal Planet has teamed up with Yahoo!’s IntoNow to bring viewers Puppy Bowl Plus, an immersive viewing experience available on Android and iOS devices. The digital experience, executive produced by Randi Kest Wheeler and the Animal Planet Digital Media team, syncs to the content on screen and ensures audiences are never more than a tap away from fellow diehard fans with live polls, video extras, exclusive photos, real-time meme generator CapIt and much more.

After an incredible rookie performance in PUPPY BOWL VIII, hailed by critics as “heroic,” “groundbreaking” and “avian,” @MeepTheBird also will return to GEICO Stadium. Follow Meep on Twitter to get the latest updates from his bird’s eye view of the stadium, including all the puppy penalties and behind-the-scenes action.

Additionally, all of the animals featured in PUPPYBOWL IX come from the Discovery Communications’ digital family through Petfinder shelters and rescue organizations across the U.S. This year’s starting lineup includes puppies from Wayside Waifs Animal Rescue (Missouri), spcaLA (California), Tails of Love Animal Rescue (New York), Pitter Patter Animal Rescue (Wisconsin) and Big Fluffy Dog Rescue (Massachusetts). PUPPY BOWL fans looking to add to their “home team” are encouraged to visit Petfinder.com, which has helped more than 20 million pets find their fur-ever homes. 

Additionally, fans can train for the big day starting now with:

• PUPPY BOWL’s Puppy Cam: Proper training includes endurance-building exercises so you don’t pull a hammy. Concerned about experiencing an adorable overload on game day? Not to worry – you can practice by watching Animal Planet’s live Puppy Cam leading up to the big game.
• Puppy Bowl Ref-trospectives: PUPPY BOWL referee Dan Schachner gets the inside scoop on more than good sportsmanship in this online video series. For all the nipping and drooling you didn’t see, check out his behind-the-scenes takes on past PUPPY BOWL experiences. 
• Game Day Puppy Profiles: Every championship-winning athlete knows that studying up on your competition is half the battle. Too bad puppies don’t have opposable thumbs…or computers.
• Starting Lineup:Study up on the key PUPPY BOWL IX players so you can be preemptively disarmed by cuteness. Fun fact? Australian Shepherd/Catahoula Mix, Althea, loves to both play and snuggle. Talk about a double threat.
• Game Day Retrospectives: No great American tradition is complete without a look back at how it all started. Reminisce about PUPPY BOWLS gone by with highlights of past games, star players and more.

PUPPY BOWL IX premieres Sunday, February 3 at 3pm ET/PT on Animal Planet. For the play-by-play action, make sure to visit facebook.com/puppybowl and to follow @AnimalPlanet on Twitter. 

AboutAnimal Planet

Animal Planet Media (APM), a multi-media business unit of Discovery Communications, is the world's only entertainment brand that immerses viewers in the full range of life in the animal kingdom with rich, deep content via multiple platforms and offers animal lovers and pet owners access to a centralized online, television and mobile community for immersive, engaging, high-quality entertainment, information and enrichment.  APM consists of the Animal Planet television network, available in more than 96 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; and other media platforms including a robust Video-on-Demand (VOD) service; mobile content; and merchandising extensions.

About Discovery Communications

Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) is the world's #1 nonfiction media company reaching more than 1.8 billion cumulative subscribers in 209 countries -more- and territories. Discovery is dedicated to satisfying curiosity through 149 worldwide television networks, led by Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Science and Investigation Discovery, as well as US joint venture networks OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, The Hub and 3net, the first 24-hour 3Dnetwork. Discovery also is a leading provider of educational products and services to schools and owns and operates a diversified portfolio of digital media services, including Revision3. For more information, please visit www.discoverycommunications.com.