The BBC shunned the dog show over cruelty claims; so Crufts is becoming its own broadcaster. The Kennel Club has tapped producer Sunset+Vine to do a live webcast on Crufts.tv, in a deal that only took a week to pull off, Guardian.co.uk reports. The stream will be free during the event from March 5 to 8, but there will also be PPV VOD at £1.99 a day or £9.99 for a full pass lasting a month.

To all intents and purposes, the web-only stream will be as BBC-like as Crufts had always been - Sunset+Vine also produces the Derby and Grand National for Auntie and is using BBC presenters Peter Purves and Frank Cane. The coverage will also be available globally.

If the KC can pull in a significant audience of dog lovers, it may prove to other sports and events they can attract a loyal online audience without mainstream TV carriage - this could also convince offline dog lovers to get a broadband connection. KC spokesperson in the release: “We are proud of Crufts and are pleased to go online this year because, although the show will no longer be on the BBC, we know that it is the world’s best platform to bring together those organisations and individuals who care about dogs”

Auntie, meanwhile, must decide whether it will take next year’s Crufts; it pulled the plug after a BBC One expose suggested the Kennel Club endorses the inheritance of genetic diseases in show dogs. Sunset+Vine is owned by Llanelli-based independent TV and online education producer Tinopolis.

(Photo: Contadini)