The year-long anticipated summer extravaganza, Shark Week, has been airing on Discovery Channel every July since 1987. The week-long event features different specials regarding the various species of sharks that reside in oceans all over the world. Discovery Channel has made such an event out of their shark infested shores that each year since 1994, the program has featured a host to introduce the nightly premieres.
2022’s Shark Week marks the 34th annual TV event, and will feature up to 25 hours of new footage for this year. The ocean’s apex predator airs all-day, everyday on Discovery for the entire week of its yearly premiere. However, what has now become a summer phenomenon once started as a TV marketing event that Discovery blasted to viewers to up their summer ratings. Here is a brief history on one of the most anticipated events of the summer — Shark Week.
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Discovery Channel
In June 1975, Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece movie Jaws hit theaters and had everyone afraid to go into the water. The film was based on Peter Benchley’s novel of the same name, and stemmed from the author’s deep interest of sharks that he acquired while fishing. Both the novel and the film were based on little scientific evidence regarding sharks in their natural habitat, but were inspired by the attacks that shocked the Jersey Shore in the summer of 1916 in the town of Matawan. The blockbuster classic sparked such fear, that people’s understanding of sharks was greatly skewed, and fishermen ran to their local oceans to rid them of sharks.
In 1987, Discovery Channel premiered the first ever Shark Week, which was a proposed week-long event of shark documentary-style programming. According to NPR, Shark Week is television’s longest-running programming event ever. The original intent of the event was to break the stigma of shark misconceptions and give viewers insight into the very real dangers that sharks themselves face. However, over time, summer’s most anticipated week turned into a much more profitable affair. Yet, why do viewers consume the content as they do? The chance that one would be attacked by a shark is lower than the chance of being struck by lightening. Shark Week allows viewers across the country to come face to face with a real-life danger from the comfort of their homes.
Celebrity Tourists & Hosts
In 1994, Shark Week was granted their first host, and it was none other than author himself, Peter Benchley. Aside from being credited with writing both the film and novel that sparked a fear for generations to come, Benchley was also an ocean activist. Being that Discovery Channel’s initial purpose was to spread shark awareness, there was nobody that would fit the hosting slot better than the man who started it all. For the next six years, Shark Week would go without a host until Nigel Marven, a wildlife television presenter would take the reins. After his departure in 2002, the program saw everyone from horror director Eli Roth to Shaquille O’Neal. For their 2022 program, Discovery landed actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to host.
Aside from their celebrity hosts, Discovery Channel has brought familiar faces from all walks of pop culture to Shark Week. Mike Tyson, Micheal Phelps, and the cast of Jackass have all found their way into the water for Shark Week. However, 2022 is featuring Comedy Central’s fan favorite Impractical Jokers to join the ranks. The team is set to take their jokes to the seas, and illicit their extreme dares in shark infested waters.
Feeding Frenzy All Week Long
Shark Week has grown into so much more than originally intended. The program features new content each year, and just when viewers thought that it couldn’t go any further than the previous year, Discovery Channel shows you it can. For the 30th anniversary of Shark Week, Discovery put out a special edition box for super fans that had all different kinds of shark gear in it. For Shark Week 2022, Discovery Channel listed a pair of limited edition-themed sunglasses, and teamed up with Build-a-Bear Workshop to produce a shark-themed bear. However, the event has reached more than just marketing on consumer goods. Restaurants, bars, and even bakeries all chime in on the fun to celebrate sharks with themed drinks and foods. Shark Week is like Christmas in July on Discovery Channel.
