The shark may have been fake, but these Nielsen numbers certainly are not.
Including 72 hours of catch-up viewing, Sunday’s “Phelps vs. Shark: Great Gold vs. Great White” scored a 3.0 rating in Discovery’s key 25-54 demographic — that’s the best ever for any Shark Week telecast.
The special, which saw Olympian Michael Phelps race a computer-generated great white shark, also set records among women of that age-range and the slightly younger version, females 18-49.
All told, “Phelps vs. Shark” hauled in more than 5 million total viewers, on average. Of that sum, 2.7 million came from Discovery’s main ad-sales demo.
In addition to those new Shark Week highs, “Great Gold vs. Great White” led Discovery to finish No. 1 across basic cable’s primetime. It even topped its broadcast competition among adults 25-54, 18-34 and 18-49 — the last of those represents over-the-air TV’s key demographic. Chum(ps).
In other words, the much-hyped Phelps stunt was a big hit — but was it quality programming? Discovery sure thought so, though Twitter didn’t quite agree with the popular cable channel’s assessment of things.
Shark Week: 9 Memorable Movie & TV Predators, From 'Jaws' to 'Sharknado' (Photos)
In honor of the soon to be national holiday we call Shark Week, TheWrap breaks down some of our favorite sharks from both TV and film
Syfy/NFL
Jaws
The one that started it all. Steven Spielberg made us all afraid to go in the water with this blockbuster about a great white that terrorizes a small island community
Universal
Sharknado
Syfy struck gold with this laughably bad franchise about tornadoes filled with killer sharks that rain down all over Ian Ziering and Tara Reid
Syfy
Shark Tank
The "sharks" on this ABC competition show determine if they want to invest in an entrepreneur's business idea, then devour those who fail (just kidding)
ABC
Left Shark
Katy Perry performed at the Super Bowl XLIX, but it was the dancing Left Shark that stole the show. The dancer's wild moves captivated audiences the world over
Getty Images
Finding Nemo
Bruce the Shark may have looked menacing, but he was a softy at heart. He swore a vow that he was going to change the image of sharks everywhere by not devouring his fellow fish
Pixar
West Side Story
The Puerto Rican Sharks nearly got lured into a war with the white Jets in this classic Sondheim musical inspired by "Romeo & Juliet"
United Artists
Land Shark
"Saturday Night Live" played into the "Jaws" hysteria with this recurring sketch about "the cleverest of all sharks"
NBC
Happy Days
This iconic sitcom inspired the phrase "jump the shark"--which describes when a TV show has overstayed its welcome--when Fonzie did just that in a Season Five episode
ABC
Deep Blue Sea
Admit it: You lost your mind when Samuel L. Jackson got eaten by a shark not even halfway through this thriller
Warner Bros
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TheWrap looks back on our favorite razor-toothed undersea dwellers in honor of Discovery’s annual programming block
In honor of the soon to be national holiday we call Shark Week, TheWrap breaks down some of our favorite sharks from both TV and film