From Snuffy to SHARKNADO, “Shark Week 2013” broke audience records every day during the now-iconic summer event. “Shark Week 2013” – the 18th for Discovery Canada – boasted more than 24 hours of shark-themed specials, a nightly talk show, and capped off the week with a Saturday night movie double-feature. According to BBM overnight audience reporting, “Shark Week 2013” stands as Discovery Canada’s highest-rated seven-day period ever(Sun., Aug. 4 to Sat., Aug. 10, 2013). Across the week, “Shark Week 2013” programming lured in more than 8.3 million Canadians; the late-night talk show SHARK AFTER DARK reached more than 2.8 million at some point during the week; and the same number grabbed the popcorn for Saturday’s shark movie double feature of SHARKNADO and JAWS. The teeth-gnashing specials offered this year account for the Top 5 highest-rated “Shark Week” episodes ever (and seven of the Top 8).
“Shark Week has gone way beyond a programming stunt and become a pop culture event. After 18 years in Canada, it’s bigger and more exciting than ever,” said Paul Lewis, President and General Manager, Discovery Canada. “Discovery’s strength is our ongoing commitment to experiment, innovate, and create compelling and entertaining quality content. It’s what distinguishes us from our competitors and we’re delighted that our audiences recognize that.”
“Shark Week 2013” – Day-by-day audience highlights:
- Sunday: MEGALODON: THE MONSTER SHARK LIVES set a new episode high, netting 676,000 viewers.
- Monday: Audiences more than doubled last year’s Monday viewing for Viewers 2+ (and tripled last year’s viewing for Adults 25-54), making it the highest-rated Monday in “Shark Week” history.
- Tuesday: The 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. airings of I ESCAPED JAWS (434,000) and SPAWN OF JAWS (419,000) rank as the #3 and #4 “Shark Week” airings ever for P2+. These records hold for just one day…
- Wednesday: The 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. airings of TOP 10 SHARKDOWN (494,000) and GREAT WHITE SERIAL KILLER(573,000) now rank as the new #2 and #3 “Shark Week” episodes of all time (behind only Sunday night’s MEGALOGON).
- Thursday: The fight for #2 continues, as the 10 p.m. audience for ALIEN SHARKS captures 661,000 viewers, just behind Sunday’s MEGALODON. This special is, however, the highest-rated episode in “Shark Week” history for the key demo Adults 25-54. SHARKPOCALYPSE at 9 p.m. drew 490,000 viewers, making it the 5th most-watched “Shark Week” special ever.
- Friday: The audience was up 70% over last year for Viewers 2+, and double last year’s viewership for Adults 25-54, making it the highest-rated Friday in “Shark Week” history
- Saturday: Saturday’s movie night double-bill delivered! SHARKNADO (611,000) and JAWS (377,000) were the top two programs on Canadian specialty TV on Saturday night.