The Olympics may be on hold, but National Geographic is this Winter’s ultimate viewing destination with the season’s other fan-favourite pastime — SHARKFEST! Spotlighting the ocean’s top athletes, National Geographic and National Geographic Wild together will air four full weeks of action-packed shark programming with 17 original premieres and the best shark programming from the networks’ massive library as part of its biggest-ever shark spectacular. Showcasing the ocean’s greatest competitors in their natural habitat, the eighth annual event takes place on National Geographic (Dstv 181, Starsat 220) on Saturday 4 July from 14:00 – 19:00 (CAT), and on and National Geographic Wild (Dstv 181, Starsat 220) every day at 18:00 from 6 – 31 July, with additional programming on selected days.

SHARKFEST dominates its opponents with informative, innovative shows highlighting shark research and conservation. This year’s starting line-up for SHARKFEST includes the following:

America’s Deadliest Sharks

Monday 6 July at 18:00 on National Geographic Wild

Up to 175 species of shark live in the oceans around the United States but only a handful of those have been known to attack humans. Despite that, they have more shark attacks there every year than the rest of the world combined.

What the Shark

Tuesday 7 July at 18:00 on National Geographic Wild

This film is a deep dive – from the sunny beach to the 8000-foot abyss, where extreme adaptation is critical to survival. For sharks in this dark void, pressure, or a lack of it, could blow flesh to pieces, and inky darkness could mean NEVER finding prey. But these weirdsters have their act together. They’re a ghostly cast of living monsters that defy the convention of life on Earth as we know it.

Shark vs. Surfer 

Tuesday 14 July at 18:00 on National Geographic Wild

Surfers aren’t the only athletes in the water; they share the playing field with the most powerful players below the surface, and often, they’re no match for the real danger among the waves. In Shark vs. Surfer, travel to the most shark-infested surf spots around the world to hear harrowing shark-and-surfer stories told by the survivors, along with insight from the world’s leading marine biologists, Ryan Johnson and Dr. Steven Kajuira.

World’s Biggest Tiger Shark

Wednesday 15 July at 18:00 on National Geographic Wild

Emmy Award-winning cinematographer Andy Casagrande and marine biologist Kori Garza journey to a remote lagoon in French Polynesia to dive with the “tigers of Tahiti” in search of the world’s largest living tiger shark, Kamakai. While there, they capture cooperative hunting tactics between two juvenile tiger sharks for the first time ever on film!

Shark Vs Whale

Friday 17 July at 18:00 on National Geographic Wild

A routine drone survey turns deadly when Ryan Johnson, a marine biologist based in South Africa, films a humpback whale being attacked and strategically drowned by a great white shark. The never-before-seen behaviour causes a complete perspective shift on a creature Johnson has spent his life studying. To make sense of the event, he follows humpback whales on their migration, mapping places that may make them vulnerable, and takes a new look at great white sharks to discover how and why they become whale killers.

Most Wanted Sharks

Monday 20 July at 18:00 on National Geographic Wild

Of the millions of sharks in our oceans, a select few are so fascinating, they’ve become worldwide celebrities with legions of fans and followers. In Most Wanted Sharks, marine biologist and shark-suit inventor Jeremiah Sullivan dives into the stories of the most sensational shark stars of all time.

Sharkcano

Tuesday 21 July at 18:00 on National Geographic Wild

Sharks and volcanoes, across the globe: where you find one, you find the other. Researchers have not figured out what attracts sharks to the hotspots, but world-renowned shark scientist Dr. Michael Heithaus is on a mission to figure out the answer. He criss-crosses the globe and risks life and limb to uncover the shocking real-life link between these two fearsome forces of nature.

Sharks vs. Dolphins: Blood Battle

Sunday 28 July at 18:00 on National Geographic Wild

The ultimate feud is waged beneath the waves: sharks versus dolphins. They’ve shared the ocean for millennia, but scientists have only just begun to understand the complex relationship between the two. The special follows a team of experts as they travel to the epicentre of this savage struggle — Shark Bay, Australia — to unlock the secrets of shark and dolphin combat.

When Sharks Attack

Saturday 4 July at 16:30 on National Geographic and from 5 July at 18:00 on National Geographic Wild (Various days, see Sharkfest schedule for details)

For families on beaches across the world, a split second is all it takes to turn a dream vacation into a nightmare. Sudden shark attacks frequently occur, and the motive behind the bite often puzzles locals and scientists alike. When Sharks Attack investigates these incidences to shed light on why and where shark encounters take place with the hope that if we understand the behaviour, we might be able to limit the number of attacks.

“For the past eight years, National Geographic and National Geographic Wild have been THE destination for viewers to get up close and personal with one of the world’s most awe-inspiring creatures, and this year we’re eating up the competition with an unprecedented line-up of action-packed shark shows,” said Geoff Daniels, executive vice president of global unscripted entertainment at National Geographic. “Over four full weeks, our viewers will get the ultimate home-field advantage to witness the ocean’s superstars in their prime, so pull up your beach chairs and get ready for some SHARKFEST!”

“This year’s SHARKFEST is going to hit a grand slam with entertaining, heart-pounding content that showcases the ocean’s fiercest and often most misunderstood predators. The premiere of Shark Vs Whale which was shot off the coast of South Africa promises to reveal a whole new side of these incredible creatures” said Evert van der Veer, Vice President, Media Networks, The Walt Disney Company Africa.  

 The marathon of programming also underscores the best of the networks’ wide shark library content — which includes hundreds of hours of programming — with titles airing throughout the four weeks, beginning every day at 18:00 on National Geographic Wild.