When it comes to Turkey Day TV for Anna Stromberg, 43, it’s not just about watching football, or giant floats soaring above Manhattan. The Westchester resident’s favorite program to tune into while prepping the turkey is the National Dog Show.
“We watch it on TV every year on Channel 4, after the parade!” enthuses Stromberg, whose family has bred Afghan hounds for decades. “We always have it on to enhance the cooking experience.”
This Thanksgiving will be the 11th year that NBC has broadcast the National Dog Show after the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and it’s become as much of a holiday tradition as stuffing and pumpkin pie. The annual broadcast was a surprise hit when it first aired in 2002; last year, it saw a 7 percent jump in ratings, with nearly 20 million viewers, despite early NFL game times that created heavy competition.
“There is no other day or time that the show would have more success,” said Jon Miller, president of programming for NBC Sports and NBC Sports Network. “It’s the perfect day to celebrate the family being together, and dogs are family members.”
Miller conceived of the idea for the broadcast after watching Christopher Guest’s 2000 comedy “Best in Show,” which, lovingly and hilariously, portrays the foibles of the dog-show world. The network had a Thanksgiving time slot that needed filling: The holiday classic “It’s a Wonderful Life” traditionally aired after the parade, around noon, but it was struggling with viewership, and Miller thought prize-winning pups might be a good fit.
He reached out to the Kennel Club of Philadelphia, which organizes the National Dog Show, about broadcasting the event. Conveniently, the National takes place just a few weeks before Thanksgiving — the broadcast isn’t live, this year’s show happened last weekend — making the timing perfect. Purina signed on as a sponsor, and it was a go. “The ratings surprised everyone that first year, and it’s been on the air ever since,” Miller recalls.
While the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show can be a bit dry, the National Dog Show’s two-hour broadcast is edited down for entertainment value. “The priority . . . is to focus on dogs that have the best chance in each group of winning,” says co-producer Lena Glasser.
Theatrical announcers add to the fun. Since its inception, actor John O’Hurley, best known for playing catalogue maestro J. Peterman on “Seinfeld,” has been the host.
“It has been a joy,” says O’Hurley, who has written two books about dogs, most recently the children’s book “The Perfect Dog.” “The success proves there is something enduring about what dogs bring to our lives.”
David Frei, a former American Kennel Club judge who inspired Fred Willard’s character in “Best in Show,” co-hosts. While the show might not be as well-known as Westminster, he says it’s just as influential.
“The Wire Fox Terrier won Best In Show last year, and this year it is the No. 1 dog in the country,” he notes.
Frei believes the show has become an American tradition because of what he calls the “alma mater factor.” “People love to root for their own [type of] dog,” explains the proud owner of a Brittany Spaniel and a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, both retired show dogs. “They tune in to see if their breed wins.”
This Thanksgiving, Stromberg will be tuning in, hoping to catch a glimpse of herself and her dogs. She competed in the show with two of her five Afghan hounds, Bruno and Falak. They didn’t win, but no matter.
For her, watching the show on TV — and the holiday — is really about quality time with her canine family members.
“They love Thanksgiving, the trimming and the turkey, but most of all that we’re home to spend the day with them,” she says.