SHARK WEEK Returns to Discovery Channel with More Hours of Shark Programming Than Ever Before, 8/10

SHARK WEEK, television's longest running must-see summer TV event, returns to Discovery Channel on Sunday, August 10. Building upon last year's 11 shark-filled specials, a whopping 13 Shark Week shows coupled with a live talk show each night gives this year's Shark Week the most premiere hours ever featured in the event's 27-year history.

SHARK WEEK's late-night live talk show, Shark After Dark, will return. Host Josh Wolf will lead viewers through an hour-long celebration of all things shark-related, including celebrity guests and shark experts. The Talk show will give viewers the opportunity to interact live on-air every night with tweets, questions to celebrity guests, and more.

Hawaii is thought of as an idyllic vacation destination, but recent spikes in shark attacks are turning these shores into a shark hot spot. Hawaiian native and surf legend Kala Alexander knows these waters better than anyone, and he hopes to uncover the reason behind this sudden shark invasion in Sharkageddon.

Lair of the Mega Shark follows famed shark experts Jeff Kerr and Andy Cassagrande head to New Zealand on a life-or-death mission to investigate the sightings of a 20 foot Great White that resembles the legend of a giant great white shark Maoris call the "lord of the sharks." Jeff and Andy will risk everything to track down this Mega Shark believed to be lurking in the shadows of the New Zealand coast line.

Zombie Sharks explores tonic immobility, a catatonic zombie-like state that can be achieved in sharks. This shark phenomenon has been studied by scientists for years, but a recent SPIKE in orca whale attacks on great white sharks suggests that orcas have now learned how to immobilize and prey on great whites. Professional diver Eli Martinez looks to prove this theory by being the first person to induce underwater tonic immobility in a massive great white shark.

In Alien Sharks: Return to the Abyss, shark researcher Paul Clerkin heads to the Indian Ocean to investigate the ocean's darkest depths in search of shark species that scientists never even knew existed and get a glimpse of the last known group of bioluminescent sharks in the world.

Monster Hammerhead explores a legendary hammerhead shark that has been patrolling Florida's shores for the past 60 years. Now, a team of scientists and anglers look to explore the mystery and find out if the legend could be real.

Dr. Michael Domeier has spent years scouring the Pacific Ocean hoping to solve one of the Greatest Mysteries of shark science: the location of great white pupping grounds. In 2013, he set the process in motion by successfully tagging a pregnant female shark that he called Gil Rakers. Now he's returning to the sea in Spawn of Jaws 2: The Birth to follow her journey and be the first to capture the birth of a baby great white shark.

Great White Matrix features legendary shark attack Survivor Paul de Gelder and cameraman Andy Casagrande on an expedition into the deadly shark Infested waters of Australia. Their mission is to investigate a series of bizarre shark attacks in an area swarming with great white sharks. Paul and Andy explore what's bringing these great whites so close to shore and what's responsible for the surge in attacks in this area.

Air Jaws programming has pushed and expanded our understanding of great white sharks and has become one of the iconic Shark Week programs. In Air Jaws: Quest for Colossus (WT) Natural History producer Jeff Kurr and his team return using incredible new cameras and high tech underwater gadgetry to track down the missing "mega-shark" named Colossus.

In Jaws Strikes Back, marine biologist Greg Skomal and the sharkcam team travel to the remote Pacific island of Guadalupe, home to some of the largest great white sharks on earth, to film an epic clash of the titans. Their mission: to film Jaws hunt two-ton mega seals.

I Escaped Jaws 2 is a shark special featuring attack stories told from the perspective of the survivor. Using first person interviews and actual footage of the attacks, we take a look at why the attacks occurred and how the victims narrowly escaped with their lives.

Shark of Darkness: Submarine Returns (WT) explores the legend of "Submarine," an enormous great white shark off the coast of South Africa. This 30-foot shark is said to be the largest great white shark of all time. Locals believe that this shark is responsible for countless fatal attacks, but its existence has never been proven. This documentary explores the evidence and asks the question: can Submarine exist?

In April 2013, a fishing vessel off the coast of South Africa was attacked, killing all on board. A TV crew documented Marine Biologist Collin Drake as he worked to determine the predator responsible. Megalodon: The New Evidence presents Shark Week viewers with shocking new evidence and interview footage.

Shark Week shows no signs of slowing down. Shark Week 2013 was the most-watched Shark Week in the event's 26 year history across all key demos including Persons, Men and Women 25-54/18-49/18-34 delivery*. SHARK WEEK's first-ever late-night talk show, Shark After Dark, out-delivered every late-night cable talk show competitor in both Persons 25-54 and 18-49 delivery. Shark After Dark also beat its late-night cable talk show competition among the coveted Persons 18-34 demo**. During the calendar week from August 5-11, Discovery Channel ranked as the #1 network in all of television among Men 18-49 delivery, no exclusions***. Shark Week 2013 on Discovery Channel was watched by 53.169 million viewers (P2+), of which 26.387 million were persons aged 25-54 years old****.

Nearly all of Discovery's affiliate partners are participating in promotion around Shark Week with advanced screenings, sneak peeks, sweepstakes, social promotions and a robust Video On Demand slate. Details include screenings and family day events at city aquariums and museums and cross channel spots in multiple markets nationwide.

Discovery Education, the global leader in standards-based digital content and professional development for K-12, brings the Science of sharks to students around the world with the launch of Sharks, an innovative content collection available year-round through Discovery Education Streaming. Students will have a front-row seat to Discovery's finest shark-infested content and learning resources. With engaging K-12 multimedia and lesson plans, the collection offers teachers and students an opportunity to learn more about nature's most feared - and often misunderstood - predators. Additionally, students can take a deep dive with recent Shark Week classics available through the award-winning Discovery Education Science Techbook(TM), such as Great White Highway, Into the Shark Bite, and Top Ten Sharkdown. Discovery Education services are available in over half of all U.S. schools and primary schools in England, community colleges, and in 50 countries around the world.

Following Shark Week 2013's buzz-worthy performance, with 2.6 million Tweets, 11 Worldwide and 15 U.S. Trending Topics on Twitter and Shark Week trending on Facebook, fin-atics will have even more to dive into online this year. SharkWeek.com is the HUB for all the action, including jawesome photos, engaging videos and additional multiplatform features to be unveiled later this summer. The ever-popular Shark Cam is getting even more bite and will feature more than ten cams with incredible footage from great white hot spots off the coasts of Cape Cod, South Africa and Australia, as well as photos, videos and other interactive elements. Meanwhile, Snuffy the Seal, is alive and well on Facebook (SnuffyTheSeal) and Twitter (@SnuffyTheSeal) where fans can enjoy #SnuffySelfies from the Shark Week hero, and everyone can ensure they don't miss out on any Shark Week fun on Facebook (SharkWeek), Twitter (@SharkWeek), Instagram (SharkWeek) and the newly-launched SharkWeekTV on Snapchat.

Shark Week will partner for the first time with Ghost Fishing this year, a non-profit organization that collects, motivates and initiates 'ghost fishing' projects around the globe. Derelict fishing gear, sometimes referred to as "ghost gear" or "ghost nets" is any discarded, lost, or abandoned, fishing gear in the environment. This gear continues to fish and trap animals, entangle and potentially kill marine life, smother habitats, and act as a hazard to navigation. Ghost Fishing is a network of experienced and well-trained divers, who remove marine debris and make the problem called ghost fishing visible to a worldwide audience.

Shark Week will partner again with One World One Ocean, a for-purpose, multi-platform media campaign that is harnessing the power of film, television and new media to generate greater global awareness of the ocean's importance to society. Additionally, Discovery will again partner with Oceana through multi-platform content and public service announcements. Oceana is the largest international non-profit group working solely to protect the world's oceans and wins policy victories for the oceans using science-based campaigns. Since 2001, they have protected over 1.2 million square miles of ocean and innumerable sea turtles, sharks, dolphins and other sea creatures.

Starting July 1, Toys "R" Us will debut a Shark Week display featuring a wide assortment of shark products including custom great white and harbor seal plush toys as well as a Shark Week lunch kit. Fans can also order must-have Shark Week gear at DiscoveryStore.com, featuring Shark Week themed t-shirts, drinkware, bottle openers, books and more.

*Source: Nielsen. MultiTrak. NHI Calendar. DISC. Historical Shark Week Rank, Sun-Sat. 8/4/13 - 8/11/13. Live+SD AA% and (000).

**Source: Nielsen. MultiTrak. NHI Calendar. DISC. Late Night Talk Show, Sun-Thurs. 8/4/13 - 8/8/13. Live+SD (000).

***Source: Nielsen. MultiTrak. NHI Calendar. DISC = #1 Network in All of Television. M18-49 Live+SD Delivery Rank. Broadcast & Cable. Mon-Sun, 8/5/13 - 8/11/13.

****Source: Nielsen. Live+7D. 8/4/13-8/10/13. DISC. Total Day (9a-3a). Time-period Reach. 6min Qual.

About Discovery Channel

Discovery Channel is dedicated to creating the highest quality non-fiction content that informs and entertains its consumers about the world in all its wonder, diversity and amazement. The network, which is distributed to 100.8 million U.S. homes, can be seen in 210 countries and territories, offering a signature mix of compelling, high-end production values and vivid cinematography across genres including, Science and technology, exploration, adventure, history and in-depth, behind-the-scenes glimpses at the people, places and organizations that shape and share our world. For more information, please visit www.discovery.com.

About Discovery Communications

Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) is the world's #1 nonfiction media company reaching more than two billion cumulative subscribers in 223 countries and territories. Discovery is dedicated to satisfying Curiosity through 162 worldwide television networks, led by Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Science and Investigation Discovery, as well as U.S. joint venture networks OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, The HUB and 3net, the first 24-hour 3D network. Across the Nordic region, Discovery owns and operates SBS Discovery Media, a top-three portfolio of 20 television brands that feature leading nonfiction content, as well as locally produced entertainment programs, sports and the best scripted series and movies from major studios. Discovery also is the leading provider of educational products and services to schools, including an award-winning series of digital textbooks, and owns and operates a diversified portfolio of digital media services, including Revision3. For more information, please visit www.discoverycommunications.com.

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