Usually Christmas is considered the “most wonderful time of the year” but don’t tell that to Discovery Channel.
The cable network begins the 30th edition of its annual “Shark Week” on Sunday, and according to data provided to TheWrap from Standard Media Index, those Great Whites have generated more than $36 million in advertising revenue over the past two years.
Per SMI, last year’s Shark Week brought in $20.2 million in advertising revenue, a jump of 59 percent over Discovery’s average weekly revenue in 2017 of $12.7 million. In 2016, Shark Week earned $16.6 million in revenue, a more modest jump of 37 percent from the 12.1 million in ad revenue that Discovery earned on a weekly basis.
Since SMI only looks at historical data, they did not have a projection for how much Discovery will rake in this year.
Shark Week begins Sunday at 7 p.m. and runs through the following Sunday, July 29. This year’s festivities feature the likes of Shaquille O’Neal, Ronda Rousey, Aaron Rodgers, Rob Gronkowski, Lindsey Vonn, Guy Fieri and Bear Grylls. It will also see the stars of ABC’s “Shark Tank,” including Marc Cuban, swim with actual sharks.
Discovery’s annual shark appreciation has become so popular that other networks have been following suit. Nat Geo Wild has been doing their own version called “SharkFest” since 2012, which kicked off a Megaldon-sized two week programming block this past Sunday. That means these two fishes will go head to head next week.
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