NEW YORK (AP) â Shark Week just finished its 33rd edition on Discovery, a television event so old that one advertising executive joked it could have its own children. But some recent research illustrated its potency in bringing new viewers to the network, something increasingly important in an era where television networks and streaming services are competing furiously for eyeballs. A study by LG Ads found that during Shark Week last year, 37% of the people who tuned in hadn't watched Discovery at any point during the previous month. That phenomenon was more pronounced for National Geographic Explorer's Shark Fest, where 51% of viewers hadn't seen the network the month before.