Shark Week Wikipedia
The Discovery Channel's Shark Week, which first aired on July 27, 1987, is a week-long series of feature television programs dedicated to sharks. Shark Week is held annually, normally running in July or August. Shark Week was developed to help the average person have a greater respect for sharks. Shark week is now broadcast in over 72 countries.
In 2000, 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.[1]
In 2005, Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman from the Discovery Channel series MythBusters hosted Shark Week, and a two-hour MythBusters "Jaws Special" was premiered for the event.
In 2006, Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs hosted, and two Dirty Jobs episodes were featured, titled "Jobs that Bite" and "Jobs that Bite…Harder". Also during the week, the Silver Spring, Maryland, headquarters of the Discovery Channel was outfitted to resemble a giant shark.[citation needed]
In 2007, Discovery Channel celebrated Shark Week's 20th Anniversary hosted by Les Stroud, host of Survivorman. The 20th anniversary included the launch of Sharkrunners, a video game that uses GPS data from tagged sharks in the Pacific Ocean.
Shark Week 2008 ran from July 27 to August 2 and was hosted by both the MythBusters and Mike Rowe.[2][3] Both a new MythBusters shark special and a shark-themed episode of Dirty Jobs premiered for the event.
2009's Shark Week began the evening of August 2.
Shark Week 2010, hosted by The Late Late Show's Craig Ferguson, began on August 1 and featured six brand-new shark specials.[4]
Shark Week 2010 was rated the most viewed Shark Week ever with 30.8 million unique people. (Source: Nielsen Media Research; cume; M-Su 8-11P; LSD P2+; 6-minute qualifier) Shark Week is now considered the longest running program event on cable.[5]
Shark Week 2011, hosted by Andy Samberg, began on July 31. It features seven specials
Hosts
The following are all of the hosts for Shark Week:
1987-2003: No Hosts.
American Chopper Guys: 2004
Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman: 2005
Mike Rowe: 2006
Les Stroud: 2007
Adam Savage, Jamie Hyneman and Mike Rowe: 2008
Les Stroud: 2009
Craig Ferguson: 2010
Andy Samberg: 2011