What’s the deal with Nightline and Animal Planet? If they’re not Disney kissin’ cousins, they sure are doing a good imitation of ’em.

Exhibit A: Tuesday’s Nightline feature on animal hoarders, which was a virtual infomercial for Animal Planet’s upcoming program “Confessions: Animal Hoarding.”

Just for good measure: Promo on Nightline’s website.

Watch “Confessions: Animal Hoarding” premiering on Animal Planet Wednesday, July 21 at 9 p.m. ET

That comes hard on the heels of last month’s Nightline piece on Animal Planet’s “River Monsters” host Jeremy Wade.

(ABC’s entire Animal Planet ouevre here.)

The hardsearching staff has combed the web for links between Disney and Animal Planet and has yet to find anything definitive, but you gotta wonder:

Is ABC’s Animal Planet attraction a coincidence?

An editorial convenience?

Or something more?