National Geographic’s Epic “SharkFest” Summer Starts July 2

Published

4 months ago

June 10, 2023

National Geographic’s Epic “SharkFest” Summer Starts July 2.

SHARKFEST, presented by National Geographic, is the best place to see sharks in their natural habitats. Get your teeth into the summer with 72 hours of SHARKFEST content on National Geographic, Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo Mundo, Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN2 beginning July 2. The best resources for educational and entertaining shark content will bring viewers face to fin with the ocean’s top predator.

The captivating science, power, and beauty of these magnificent animals will be on full display over the course of four weeks of explosive, hair-raising, celebratory shark programming during SHARKFEST, thanks to state-of-the-art technology and actual leading experts in the field. Without having to worry about being sidetracked by celebrities, viewers can delve deep into the unpredictable psyche of sharks with more than 22 hours of original programming and more than 50 hours of enhanced content.

For a truly international underwater adventure, SHARKFEST will travel to locations all over the world, including Australia, the Bahamas, Canada, Indonesia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and more.

Expanding beyond National Geographic, SHARKFEST will be across all waters this summer and available for all generations to enjoy, including the following:

Disney+ and HULU will stream every SHARKFEST premiere as they roll out over the course of the month-long, jaw-dropping programming event.

ABC Owned Television Stations’ appetite for action will be filled with some of the most fin-tastic content from the past year, airing across key linear and streaming platforms throughout July.

The Nat Geo TV App and ABC App will celebrate the must-sea summer event with a SHARKFEST collection page, along with a FAST pop-up channel, available June 15, that will feature episodes from previous years of SHARKFEST.

Disney Channel will make waves with kid-centric shark content from Saturday, July 8, through Sunday, July 9.

Disney XD will feature 10 hours of shark-themed content from Monday, July 3, through Friday, July 7.

Disney Junior will air shark-themed programming with preschool-friendly messaging from Monday, July 3, through Sunday, July 9.

DisneyNOW will have shark-themed content on its homepage all month long through August.

Disney Channel, Disney XD, Disney Junior, and Nat Geo Kids’ YouTube channels will all have new shark-themed shorts beginning Monday, July 3.

National Geographic’s SHARKFEST hub, natgeo.com/sharkfest, will be updated throughout the summer to include enhanced content about sharks, including facts, photos and videos, quizzes and more, providing audiences with a better understanding of the ocean’s most misunderstood predator. For kids and their families, the National Geographic Kids YouTube channel will feature a Sharkfest playlist, in addition to shark-related content featured on the Kids website throughout the month of July.

Continuing its partnership with Minorities in Shark Sciences (MISS), which encourages diversity and inclusion in shark sciences and inspires the next generation of scientists, National Geographic’s SHARKFEST will feature new and familiar experts in this year’s programming. This collaboration lends MISS experts as on-screen talent and allows them to be consultants for the programming and development of the series.

Other featured shark experts include the following:

Candace Fields (MISS), a Ph.D. student studying the population dynamics and geographic population structure of large predators

Dr. Frances Farabaugh, a Ph.D. student focusing on the ecology of marine predators and the role sharks play in structuring reef communities

Dr. Greg Skomal, an accomplished marine biologist, underwater explorer, photographer and author who currently heads up the Massachusetts Shark Research Program

Dr. Mike Heithaus, the executive dean of the College of Arts, Sciences & Education (CASE) and professor in the department of biological sciences at Florida International University (FIU)

Dr. Ryan Johnson, a marine biologist and world-famous documentary host

Dr. Valeria Paz, a dolphin biologist focusing on top predator and community ecology

Dr. Yannis Papastamatiou, an associate professor at FIU in the department of biological sciences, who has made big strides in the shark research community

Gibbs Kuguru, a Kenyan shark scientist who works with great whites and studies the DNA of sharks

Melissa Cristina Marquez, a Puerto Rican marine biologist and science communicator studying chondrichthyan fishes, such as great white sharks

Megan Winton, a research scientist and a Ph.D. candidate where her research has focused on understanding shark and sea turtle populations in the northwest Atlantic

Davon Strickland (MISS), the captain of the FIU football team and also part of the next generation of marine biologists joining Dr. Mike Heithaus’ lab as a Ph.D. candidate

A-bel Gong (MISS), a behavioral ecologist studying sharks and a co-host of the podcast “LGBTQ+ STEM,” which highlights LGBTQ+ voices in the sciences

Johan Gustafson, Australian expedition leader, marine ecologist, and shark expert specializing in shark behavior, movement, and environmental interactions; while using the latest tagging technologies, Johan’s research has been used to track Australia’s various shark species for nearly 10 years

Dr. Mariel Familiar López, a wildlife biologist in both marine and terrestrial environments and an experienced science communicator; originally from Mexico City, Mariel’s research has helped to combat the devastating chytridiomycosis, an amphibian fungal infectious disease resulting in the global mass decline and extinction of amphibians worldwide

No-fin compares to National Geographic’s SHARKFEST, the go-to destination for advancement, scientific experts and incredible shark discoveries. This year’s shark-infested lineup includes:

BULL SHARK BANDITS
National Geographic – Premieres July 2 @ 8/7c
ESPN2 – July 7 @ 10/9c
Nat Geo WILD – July 24 @ 10/9c
Disney+ and HULU – July 2
Shark biologists Dr. Johan Gustafson and Dr. Mariel Familiar López investigate rising reports of bull sharks stealing from fishermen in Weipa, northern Australia. Could this methodical and radical shift in behavior provide new evidence of shark intelligence? To find out, the team deploys groundbreaking experiments and technology, including a new prototype diving cage.

SHARK EAT SHARK
National Geographic – Premieres July 2 @ 9/8c
Nat Geo WILD – July 26 @ 10/9c
Disney+ and HULU – July 2
Around the world, reports of shark-on-shark attacks are on the rise. Now, off South Africa’s dramatic southern coast, a new hotspot has emerged – a bay where white sharks hunt other sharks. In a groundbreaking investigation, Enrico Gennari and Lacey Williams lead a team of experts into the deep to capture conclusive evidence of SHARKS EATING SHARKS!

SAVED FROM A SHARK
National Geographic – Premieres July 2 @ 10/9c
Nat Geo WILD – July 27 @ 8/7c
Disney+ and HULU – July 2
The scientific community is divided as to whether dolphins or whales will deliberately save a person from a shark attack. But the people who have lived through these terrifying encounters don’t doubt what happened.

WHEN SHARKS ATTACK 360 (Six-Episode Series)
National Geographic – Premieres July 3 @ 8/7c, with new episodes each night through July 11
Nat Geo WILD – July 30 at 6/5c
Disney+ and HULU – July 2
An international team of experts hunts for clues as they investigate why sharks bite humans. They unravel the surprising threads that link these incidents. As the evidence mounts, they analyze data in a cutting-edge VFX shark lab to understand in forensic detail why sharks attack.

RETURN OF THE WHITE SHARK
National Geographic – Premieres July 3 @ 9/8c
Nat Geo WILD – July 25 @ 8/7c
Disney+ and HULU – July 2
Hundreds of great white sharks have recently appeared on the doorstep of one of America’s most popular tourist destinations, hunting in ways never documented before. To understand why the sharks are here and what this means for Cape Cod, a team of scientists are studying this new phenomenon to try to keep people safe. Are the sharks changing the natural ecosystem … or restoring it?

BULL SHARK VS. HAMMERHEAD
National Geographic – Premieres July 3 @ 10/9c
ESPN2 – July 7 @ 9/8c
Nat Geo WILD – July 28 @ 9/8c
Disney+ and HULU – July 2
In Florida, a rare event between top ocean predators was captured on video: bull sharks attacking a great hammerhead. Dr. Heithaus and a team of shark experts launch an investigation pinning one against the other. They put experiments to the test to see what happens when these top predators come head-to-head.

SHARK BELOW ZERO
National Geographic – Premieres July 5 @ 9/8c
Nat Geo WILD – July 24 @ 8/7c
Disney+ and HULU – July 2
White sharks have been spotted across Canada as far north as the coast of Newfoundland. After the first suspected white shark attack in Canada for over 150 years, experts Greg Skomal, Heather Bowlby, Megan Winton and Warren Joyce investigate what drives white shark’s journey to the northernmost limit of their range.

SHARKANO: HAWAII
National Geographic – Premieres July 5 @ 10/9c
Nat Geo WILD – July 24 @ 9/8c and 11/10c
Disney+ and HULU – July 2
To find out why sharks are drawn to Hawaii’s volcanoes, biologists Dr. Mike Heithaus and Dr. Frances Farabaugh free dive with one of the most dangerous sharks: the tiger shark.

WHEN SHARKS ATTACK… AND WHY (Eight-Episode Series)
National Geographic – Premieres July 6 @ 9/8c, with new episodes each night through July 12
Nat Geo WILD – July 26 @ 8/7c and 9/8c
Disney+ and HULU – July 2
From America’s coastlines to exotic beaches around the world, shark attacks are becoming more unpredictable. Many of these attacks occur suddenly, in large numbers, and in unexpected locations – puzzling locals and scientists alike. Experts investigate these mysterious incidents to discover what is affecting some of nature’s most feared fish.

SHARKS VS. DOLPHINS: BAHAMAS BATTLEGROUND
National Geographic – Premieres July 10 @ 10/9c
Nat Geo WILD – July 28 @ 8/7c
Disney+ and HULU – July 2
In the Bahamas, more than 30% of dolphins have shark-bite scars. With a never-before-seen non-toxic gel bite pad and life-sized dolphin decoy, Dr. Mike Heithaus and Dr. Valeria Paz collect bite impressions from three shark species that might be the predators. Bites from bull sharks, tiger sharks, and great hammerheads – up to 14 feet long – are compared to scars photographed on dolphins.