Last week, an e-mail promoting the Puppy Channel rained down on nearly every member of the Broadcasting & Cable staff and, we suspect, on many, many others in the media.
The e-mail’s sketchy wording—the “big dogs” that attend the NCTA convention this week “may have indicated the channel’s time might have arrived”—reminded us that we’ve been hearing for nearly a decade about the imminent launch of this channel devoted to the pairing of lovable pups and nice music.
Dogs may be man’s best friend, but journalists can be a puppy’s faithful companion. A sampling:
2004: “…The Puppy Channel, which will begin next year”—The Post and Courier (Charleston, S.C.)
2003: “Cable channels in the works include…the Puppy Channel”—Miami Herald
2002: “The National Cable & Telecommunications Assn. notes such new aspirants as…the Puppy Channel”—Los Angeles Times
2000: “The Puppy Channel is just puppies, puppies, puppies”—Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock, Ark.), apparently under the impression that the channel actually exists
1999: “Daniel A. FitzSimons of Cleveland is one entrepreneur with a channel vision…His idea: puppies, all day long.”—Philadelphia Inquirer
1998: “…the Puppy Channel will be up and running in a few months.”—Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.)
1997: “On this channel, any puppy can have its day”—headline, USA Today
1996: “The Puppy Channel still lacks an essential ingredient. It doesn’t have a cable system that has committed to carrying its canine content.”—Crain’s Cleveland Business
It might be time for the Puppy Channel story idea to be spayed or neutered so it can’t reproduce again.
