HALLMARK CHANNEL, THE OFFICIAL HOME OF KITTEN SPORTS, ANNOUNCES THE BIGGEST GLOBAL FELINE SPORTING EVENT ON THE PLANET "KITTEN SUMMER GAMES" TO PREMIERE EXCLUSIVELY ON THE NETWORK AUGUST 2016

The Road To Gold Begins in 535 Days!

Having recently posted historic ratings for "Kitten Bowl II," Hallmark Channel, the worldwide leader in kitten sports, announces the network's newest feline cultural phenomenon, "Kitten Summer Games," a Hallmark Channel Original Special Event, will premiere exclusively on the network August 2016. "Kitten Summer Games" will showcase hundreds of adoptable kittens in the most competitive "claw down" the sporting world has ever seen.

For the inaugural "Kitten Summer Games," Hallmark Channel has released a schedule of competitions for both individuals and groups, which include the de-cat-lon, gymnastics, freestyle wrestling, swimming, track and field, balance beam, floor exercises, sprints and many more furrocious kitten sports. Kittens 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 & 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," Mr. Abbott concluded.

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. 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, which owns and operates Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, is the home of PET PROJECT, the company's evergreen prosocial initiative, which utilizes entertainment to show the joys pets bring to our lives. The company 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.

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