Shark Week trivia: 50 facts about the annual week-long Discovery Channel programming!

Shark Week is an annual, week-long TV programming block at the Discovery Channel.

So let’s find out some more trivia and facts about this programming block!

1. Shark Week is an annual, week-long TV programming block at the Discovery Channel
2. Which features shark-based programming
3. Shark Week originally premiered on July 17, 1988
4. Featured annually, in July and/or early August
5. It was originally devoted to conservation efforts and correcting misconceptions about sharks
6. Over time, it grew in popularity and became a hit on the Discovery Channel
7. Since 2010, it has been the longest-running cable television programming event in history
8. Broadcast in over 72 countries
9. Shark Week is promoted heavily via social networks like Facebook and Twitter
10. Episodes are also available for purchase on services like Google Play Movies & TV/YouTube, Amazon Video, and iTunes
11. Some episodes are free on subscription-based Hulu
12. Shark Week was prompted by an offhand remark from a programming manager
13. Discovery founder John Hendricks realized the potential of shark documentaries in drawing attention to his “fledgling network”
14. The first Shark Week premiered in July 1988, and the first show was Caged in Fear
15. A total of 10 episodes aired
16. Other shows included Sharks: Predators or Prey, The Shark Takes a Siesta, and Sharks of a Different Color
17. Due to the programming’s success, Discovery decided to continue it
18. In 2000, Discovery Channel aired Shark Week Uncaged presented by famous zoologist Nigel Marven as a host
19. Six million 3D Pulfrich glasses were distributed to viewers in the United States and Canada for an episode featuring an extinct giant shark, which had 3D segments
20. The programming has been hosted by notable personalities from other Discovery series
21. In 2005, Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman of MythBusters hosted Shark Week
22. Which premiered with a two-hour MythBusters “Jaws Special”
23. In 2006, Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs hosted Shark Week, and two Dirty Jobs episodes were produced to tie-into the programming
24. They were titled “Jobs that Bite” and “Jobs that Bite…Harder”
25. That year, a 446-foot-long (136 metres) inflatable great white shark named Chompie was hung from the Discovery Channel’s Silver Spring, Maryland headquarters
26. In 2007, Discovery Channel celebrated Shark Week’s 20th Anniversary hosted by Les Stroud, host of Survivorman
27. The 20th anniversary included the launch of Sharkrunners
28. A video game that uses GPS data from tagged sharks in the Pacific Ocean
29. The program Ocean of Fear aired on July 29
30. In 2015, Discovery announced a new, shark-themed weekend that would air on the Discovery Channel
31. The weekend took place in late August 2015
32. And contained three different programs
33. The first program, which aired on Saturday, August 29, was MythBusters vs. Jaws
34. Followed right after by Shark Alley: Legend of Dynamite
35. The next day, Sunday, August 30, one program aired, called Air Jaws: Walking with Great Whites
36. The purpose of Shweekend was to increase the shark-related content from previous years and to prolong the summer’s shark coverage
37. Since its early days, Shark Week evolved into more entertainment-oriented and sometimes fictional programming
38. By the 2010s, it attracted much criticism for airing dramatic programs to increase viewers and popularity
39. This fictitious programming, known as docufiction, has been produced in the last few years
40. Examples of such programs include Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives, Shark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine, Monster Hammerhead, Lair of the Mega Shark, and Megalodon: The New Evidence
41. This strategy was successful, especially for the program Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives
42. As it became one of the most watched programs in Shark Week history
43. Primarily for the controversy and backlash it generated
44. The mockumentary was based on an ancient giant shark called megalodon, which is now long extinct
45. The airing of this program fueled criticism by the professionals in the science blogger community, as well as science-advocacy bloggers like actor Wil Wheaton, and resulted in boycott of the network
46. Since then, Discovery has increasingly come under fire for using junk science, pushing dubious theories, creating fake stories, and misleading scientists as to the nature of the documentary being produced
47. In early 2015, Discovery President Rich Ross vowed to remove this type of programming from the future Shark Week lineups
48. More criticism was leveled at Discovery in 2017
49. Then the network heavily promoted a race between Olympic gold medal winner Michael Phelps and a Great White shark
50. The shark turned out to be computer generated