CBS Goes for the Blue Ribbon With Dog Show : Television: The network hopes to recoup its sports losses by carrying the American Kennel Club National Invitational Dog Championship on Sunday.

CBS Sports is going to the dogs.

That’s not a judgment on its financial status or production skills, but a statement of fact.

On Sunday, the network will broadcast the American Kennel Club National Invitational Dog Championship from 11 a.m. to noon. It is believed to be the first time CBS has shown a dog show since it aired the fabled Westminster Kennel Club competition in the late 1960s and early 1970s on its now-defunct “CBS Sports Spectacular” anthology series.

It is also the latest example of economics impacting network programming.

Trans World International, which bills itself as the world’s largest independent sports television production company, purchased the hour of time from CBS, thus guaranteeing a profit for the network, which has lost millions from its baseball and NFL telecasts. TWI took on the risk of selling commercial time in the program.

“We said there was no reason it (the dog show) can’t be on,” said Jay Rosenstein, vice president of programming at CBS Sports, “but we would like to make sure one of the advantages to us is that you bring non-traditional sports advertisers because, in this current weakened sports television marketplace, we didn’t want to be in a position that would be dilutive of other events.”

TWI then reached an agreement with Kal Kan to have its Pedigree dog food line serve as the main sponsor, with six 30-second spots airing during the broadcast. Other advertisers include Mars candy, Braun shavers and Arm & Hammer.

Barry Frank, the TWI vice president who conceived the show, said that he would be delighted if it reaches 2% to 3% of the nation’s dog-owning households. According to the 1991 U.S. Statistical Abstract, there are 34.7 million households with at least one dog.

Officials from both the television and advertising industries are optimistic about the show’s chances.

“I think it will probably do pretty well,” said Rob Correa, vice president of sports programming for cable’s USA Network.

USA carries the Westminster Kennel Club show, which draws a larger audience than NBA games on Turner Network Television or college basketball games on ESPN. Last February’s coverage averaged a 2.6 cable rating (about 1.5 million households) for its two nights, a figure that Correa said was depressed by the Winter Olympics on CBS. It had averaged a 3.3 rating the previous three years.

“To do that, you have to grab in anybody remotely interested in dogs,” Correa said. “If the only people interested were dog showers, you wouldn’t even get a .1 rating.”

John Goodchild, president of the Weightman Group, the Philadelphia-based advertising agency that represents Alpo Petfoods, said that Kal Kan’s decision to sponsor the CBS broadcast would be “pretty efficient.”

“Dog-owning households account for about 40% of the U.S. households,” so dog owners would comprise about 40% of the audience for the average TV show, Goodchild said. “But in this case, I would suspect 80% or more would own a dog.”

Like any type of television programming, if Sunday’s show proves successful, look for additional pet-related programs. Frank is considering producing obedience and trial championships for canines next year, along with a national cat championship.