Nat Geo’s Geoff Daniels Talks SharkFest

National Geographic is doubling down on SharkFest this year, with the annual programming stunt, now in its seventh edition, expanding across three weeks and two networks, beginning July 14.

“When we launched SharkFest seven years ago, I don’t think that I could have ever imagined that it was going to end up swallowing up two networks, three weeks, with 16 jaw-dropping (no pun intended) premieres,” Geoff Daniels, executive VP of global unscripted entertainment at National Geographic, tells TV Real Weekly. “And on top of that, a full-on National Geographic digital and social platform takeover, and the best of everything we’ve done over the last seven years on TV Everywhere and OTT with Hulu. That, in and of itself, is such a testament to how successful and resonant this has been with our audiences around the world.”

The expansion to include content on both National Geographic and Nat Geo WILD comes in response to both the increasing popularity of the programming event and the raft of new material about shark behavior. “So many extraordinary stories were being offered to us from the scientific and filmmaking communities in the last couple of years,” Daniels says. “Ultimately, we were having a hard time picking the best of the best for a limited run. And clearly, the audience appetite for understanding and experiencing and learning more about the truth behind these incredible predators keeps growing. An event that has more scale and more presence across all of our networks and platforms can begin to shine a light in an even more meaningful way on just how important the sharks are to our world’s oceans. We can engage our audience at a deeper level.”

Daniels notes that SharkFest also ties in with National Geographic’s broader Planet or Plastic? campaign, promoting consumer awareness of single-use plastics that are threatening the health of the world’s oceans. Sharks, Daniels explains, are the “toothy canaries in the coal mine. You can directly measure the health of an ecosystem in the ocean by the number of sharks.” PSAs will run on National Geographic and Nat Geo WILD highlighting the impact of plastics on sharks, and the “snackable digital series” The Story of Plastic will tell the stories behind common plastic objects and emerging solutions.

The main event, however, is on the linear channels, with a lineup that speaks to Nat Geo’s “science-led and access-driven” approach to SharkFest, Daniels says. “We’re looking for extraordinary stories about new shark behavior and the changes and challenges they are facing in the oceans. We are committed to not sensationalizing. We’re looking for stories that give insights into the mysterious world of these extraordinary creatures. We’re not celebritizing SharkFest. The celebrities for us are the sharks. Our audiences are looking for this idea that truth is more thrilling than fiction. The research community, the scientists and the filmmakers recognize the scale of what we can deliver on a worldwide basis in a 360-degree environment.”

SharkFest docs can take two to three years to come to fruition—”you can’t shortcut the science,” Daniels says—“but then there are moments where you can also be super opportunistic. And that’s the case with World’s Biggest Great White?”

Slated for a July 21 simulcast on National Geographic and Nat Geo WILD, the film features footage, filmed earlier this year, of what is thought to be Deep Blue, the largest great white shark ever caught on camera. “The filmmakers and the scientists came to us exclusively. They could have gone anywhere with that story, but they came to us and said, We’re sitting on this material, we’re not sure what we want to do with it. Help us craft this story.”

World’s Biggest Great White? is the “standout piece” of the SharkFest lineup this year, Daniels notes, “because of the exclusivity of that footage. Since the 1920s there have only been 19 great white filmings off the coast of Hawaii. Deep Blue hadn’t been caught [on camera] for five years. She’s arguably the biggest shark celebrity on the planet.”

Daniels singles out three other specials that are “emblematic of everything we’ve been talking about in terms of highlighting not just the power and mystery of these animals and how misunderstood they are, but also some of the new science coming out that is showing us that they are smarter, more adaptive, more resourceful than we’ve ever thought before.”

Cannibal Sharks, on July 14, features cookiecutter and sand tiger sharks and demonstrates “how hard it is for life at the top, particularly when you have to look over your fin for your own kind as well,” Daniels quips. Man vs. Shark, on July 17, spotlights Jeremiah Sullivan as he tests out a new lightweight body armor. “He has an encounter with a 14-foot tiger shark where he literally puts his arm out and tests whether or not [this armor] is going to work.” Forecast: Shark Attack, airing July 18, looks at how weather changes may lead sharks closer to shore to hunt, bringing them closer to beachgoers.

“These series are allowing us to know these animals and see their behavior and understand how they work in ways that start to create empathy between us and them,” Daniels says.

“There is a multitude of ways in which people will be able to see all these shows,” Daniels says of the SharkFest multiplatform experience. “It starts clearly with the linear networks. There’s a week of premieres starting July 14 on National Geographic. Nat Geo WILD is picking up the ‘tail end,’ as we’re euphemistically calling it, from July 21 to August 2. So you’ve got three full weeks, 16 premieres and a whole bunch of the best shows we’ve done over the last seven years on linear across those two networks in a roadblock fashion. Digital and social media will allow our audiences to engage with the shows, the experts and our filmmakers. On our TV Everywhere apps people can do their catch-ups with a whole library of SharkFest programming. And then we’re also launching SharkFest as a bespoke experience on Hulu. We’re allowing people to access the best of our content, anywhere, anytime, at their leisure. They then can go further with us with regards to Planet or Plastic? and the digital shorts and all these other experiences that we’re building in.”