The Ultimate Guide to Watching Shark Week

What started out as an idea written on the back of a napkin has turned into one of the most-raved annual TV events to date: Shark Week. Year after year, Shark Week earns high marks for its educational, informative, and entertaining content. 

Shark Week pulls in marine biologists, scientists, and even A-list TV personalities (what’s up, Guy Fieri) to dispel shark myths, promote conservation, share fast facts, and provide lots of zoom-ins on shark teeth. 

It also showcases other animals too. Between the segment Bear vs. Shark and—believe it or not— Shaq vs. Shark, there are endless hours worth of entertaining content sure to keep your eyes glued to the TV for seven days straight.

So, how do you tune into Shark Week this year? Luckily, DIRECTV makes it easy to catch every Shark Week event possible—so you don’t miss a second of sharks devouring chum or a daring scuba diver get into a shark cage. 

How to Stream Shark Week

First things first: the supplies

Grab a bowl of popcorn. Have your favorite adult beverage (or two) on-hand. If you’re feeling extra festive, consider making shark banana pops or shark-shaped cupcakes. 

Just don’t get anything that might make you queasy—sharks devouring schools of fish may not be the most appetizing thing to watch while you scarf down dinner. 

Second: get the gear

A genie in a bottle that washes up on the shore of the beach isn’t the only genie we’re here to talk about it. DIRECTV’s Genie HD DVR sits at the top of the food chain when it comes to receivers. With the Genie, you can start the Legend of Deep Blue from your living room and finish it from your bedroom. 

With the Genie 2, you can do even more. Genie 2 receiver models can record up to seven shows at a time, simultaneously stream on two devices in 4K, and store 2,000 gigabytes of storage (that’s two terabytes for you technical folk). 

Even better, you can pair your Genie with each screen in the home with wireless or plug-in receivers.

DIRECTV subscription

With DIRECTV, there are plenty of ways to watch Shark Week. No matter which DIRECTV package you sign up for, you’ll get access to over 155 channels—all of which include the Discovery Channel.  

Plus, if you’re away from home when your favorite blood-filled Shark Week segment airs, you can watch recorded or live Shark Week events from your phone or tablet. Even better, if dinner is running behind and you’re afraid of missing your favorite Shark Week segment, you can record the episode on your DVR from your mobile device too. 

Watch Shark Week in the click of a button

DIRECTV’s Genie Remote makes it easy to customize your Shark Week watchathon to your liking. Thanks to a little something we call RF mode, you won’t even need to point the remote at your TV or DVR. 

The Genie Remote now has fewer buttons, making it even more user-friendly. Plus, it’s faster than it’s ever been before (though we can’t promise that it’s faster than a shark).

Watch from wherever you are 

As long as you’re in the US, you can watch Shark Week live from anywhere with the DIRECTV app—be it a cabin, hotel room, or even a boat.

Again, no matter how much you pay for your subscription, the DIRECTV app makes streaming accessible from just about anywhere (but it can’t save you if you get thrown overboard). 

Don’t settle for a nibble of Shark Week—watch the whole thing 

Between The Sharks of Headstone Hell and Return to Shark Land and Monster Mako: Perfect Predator and Isle of Jaws: Blood Brothers, 2019’s Shark Week proved that there’s a lot more to sharks than meets the eye. 

If you’re brave enough to dive right into Shark Week 2020, you’ll be a great fit for our Shark Week Dream Job. We’re paying one dedicated Shark Week-er to watch and commentate the whole thing for $1,000. 

Find out how to watch this year’s Shark Week—check out our customer service page for more information.