ESPN, American Kennel Club Reach Three-Year Media Deal

American Kennel Club

ESPN has reached an agreement with the American Kennel Club under which there will be at least 60 hours of televised and streaming canine competitions on ESPN/ABC outlets each of the next three years. Under the deal, the AKC Championship, North America’s largest dog show, will air on ABC, beginning with a three-hour telecast on Jan. 17. Other AKC competitions to be aired and streamed on Disney outlets include Fastest Dogs USA, the Agility Premier Cup, the National Agility Championship, the North American Diving Dog Premier Cup, and the Flyball national Championship Cup.

Streaming presentations begin this Friday, with live presentation of the Fastest Dogs USA competition. There will be at least six AKC events televised or streamed each year. AKC’s Ron Furman helped fashion the deal and said the Disney nets were attracted because of his property’s expansive female audience, and the 63.2 million U.S. households with at least one dog.