Finnish puppy livestream Pentulive draws more than 10 million viewers
More than 10 million people around the world have tuned into the latest season of Pentulive, a Finnish television show about a dog and her newborn puppies, according to Yle, the Finnish public broadcaster that produces it. Yle describes the programme as slow TV, a format built on long, continuous broadcasts of a single everyday subject.
Pentulive, also known as Puppy Live, runs for 24 hours a day and is in its sixth season. The programme includes a round-the-clock webcam, live evening chat sessions with the breeder, a podcast, and an instant notification service that tracks the puppies' progress for eight weeks, the Guardian reports.
This year's stars are six puppies of the Lagotto Romagnolo breed, an Italian water dog, with four males and two females. Their mother is Hilkka. The season follows her and the litter from the beginning of October to the beginning of December. The Guardian reports that the puppies attracted millions of views online and on social media in their first two weeks.
The puppies will be officially named by viewer vote on their two-week birthday. Nominations include Martha, Timo, Ronja and Dante. In mid-December, they are due to leave Hilkka and move to new families through adoption.
The concept came from Pirjo Koskinen, a science journalist, who wanted to teach viewers about dog research and about why the first weeks of a dog's life matter, the Guardian reports. Ville Alijoki is editorial manager of Yle's factual journalism.
The format has travelled beyond Finland. In Sweden, the show is broadcast under the name Valparna live, and Swedish public broadcaster SVT is streaming it, according to Yle. Yle has also sold the format to a broadcaster in the Netherlands.
