Shark Week Plus: A Deeper Dive Into Shark Week

08/12/2012

Discovery Channel is pulling out all the stops for the 25th anniversary of Shark Week to bring you closer than you’ve ever been before.

One thing you do not want to miss this year is Shark Week Plus, an audio-synched viewing experience for iPad users featuring exclusive photos, behind-the-scenes information, interactive infographics, shark trivia and more, all synchronized to select Shark Week shows.

Shark Week Plus was developed in partnership with TVplus, an award-winning social television company that delivers rich, interactive experiences for the second screen, and Bottle Rocket, which specializes in custom, high-end mobile apps that set the industry standard.

“This is just the latest iteration of something we’ve been doing for a while, integrating viewers more tightly into our programming, recognizing that fans are emotionally invested and giving them a way to participate,” Miguel Monteverde, VP of digital media for Discovery Channel, recently told Variety.

“The big thing is to get viewers closer than ever before,” Monteverde says. “We are trying to make Shark Week a more intimate experience, not a passive sit-back-on-the-couch situation, with the promise of social TV — bringing together communities of viewers in real time to celebrate shows that America can watch together.”

Shark Week Plus is just one of many digital offerings this year.

Each night starting at 9PM e/p during Shark Week, vote to choose which item will get crushed by our epic mechanical Megalodon, “Sharkzilla,” in the Shark Week Chompdown. Tune in at 10PM e/p to play Shark Week Bingo with your friends and family. Join the conversation using #SharkWeek for a chance to see your Tweets on air. Watch live sharks throughout the day with our fully controllable 360-degree Shark Cam, featuring daily diver chats and shark feedings.

For a full schedule of events, check out our Shark Week Survival Guide.

To experience Shark Week Plus:

1) Tune in at 9PM e/p each night during Shark Week, or record the 9PM shows and watch them later with Shark Week Plus.
2) Launch Shark Week Plus from the free Discovery Channel iPad app.
3) Shark Week Plus automatically recognizes the show’s audio signature via your iPad’s microphone and begins displaying synched content.

TV Shows Featuring Shark Week Plus:

Air Jaws Apocalypse (Sunday, August 12, 9PM e/p)
Sharkzilla (Monday, August 13, 9PM e/p)
How Jaws Changed the World (Tuesday, August 14, 9PM e/p)
Shark Fight (Wednesday, August 15, 9PM e/p)
Great White Highway (Thursday, August 16, 9PM e/p)

TV Shows Featuring Shark Week Bingo:

Shark Week’s Impossible Shots (Sunday, August 12, 10PM e/p)
MythBusters’ Jawsome Shark Special (Monday, August 13, 10PM e/p)
Adrift: 47 Days With Sharks (Tuesday, August 14, 10PM e/p)
World’s Scariest Animal Attacks (Wednesday, August 15, 10PM e/p)
Shark Week’s 25 Best Bites (Thursday, August 16, 10PM e/p)