How to Watch Shark Week Live for Free to See This Year’s Most Insane Encounters

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Shark Week is officially here, and if you’re anything like millions of other viewers, you’re already planning your next few nights around some epic underwater encounters. But before your wallet feels the bite of expensive streaming services, there’s some good news: you can watch Shark Week live for free with the right strategy.

Shark Week has become one of those rare TV events that somehow manages to feel both educational and completely addictive. Since launching in 1988, it’s evolved from straightforward documentary programming into Discovery Channel‘s crown jewel: a week-long celebration that turns even casual viewers into temporary marine biologists.

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The programming mixes legitimate marine research with the kind of edge-of-your-seat content that makes for perfect tuning in night after night. You’ll see cutting-edge technology revealing new shark behaviors alongside encounters that range from inspiring to absolutely nerve-wracking. Each year brings fresh perspectives on these incredible creatures, plus enough viral moments to fuel social media memes for weeks to come. Nothing quite captures the internet’s attention like a week dedicated to apex predators!

How to watch Shark Week, at a glance

• Available on: Discovery Channel via DirecTV Stream, Philo, Sling TV, and Hulu + Live TV
• Free trial periods: DirecTV Stream offers a five-day free trial; Philo offers a seven-day free trial
• When: Shark Week runs from July 20, 2025 through July 26, 2025. See below for the full schedule.

This year’s schedule is packed with both returning fan favorites and new specials that promise to push the envelope even further. Whether you’re tuning in for the science or just want to see what happens when famous people meet massive sharks, there’s plenty to keep you hooked all week long. The best part? You don’t need an expensive cable package to join millions of other viewers in this annual ocean adventure.

How to watch Shark Week live for free

Since Shark Week airs exclusively on Discovery Channel, you’ll need access to a streaming service that carries the network. Fortunately, DirecTV Stream, Philo, Sling TV, and Hulu + Live TV offer the channel at reasonable prices, and some of these services come with free trial periods that can help you experience this year’s programming without any upfront costs.

DirecTV Stream carries Discovery Channel across its Entertainment, Choice, Ultimate, and Premier packages, offering new subscribers a five-day free trial. While this won’t cover the full week, it’s perfect for catching the biggest specials.

Philo would be your next strongest option for complete Shark Week coverage, including Discovery Channel in all of its plans alongside a generous seven-day free trial. Since Philo specializes in entertainment networks rather than sports channels, it’s great for documentary and reality TV enthusiasts. Plus, the trial period aligns perfectly with Shark Week’s typical duration, letting you experience the entire event without spending a cent.

While Sling TV and Hulu + Live TV both carry Discovery Channel in their packages, they don’t offer the same trial benefits. However, both services occasionally run promotional deals for new subscribers and maintain competitive pricing that makes them solid options for cord-cutters who want to keep access to Discovery’s programming year-round.

EDITOR’S CHOICE

Watch Shark Week with DirecTV

– Five-day free trial
– Includes local networks and 90+ channels

$0+ Buy Now

DirecTV Stream offers a five-day free trial and four plans: Entertainment, which comes with 90+ channels and costs $84.99 per month; Choice, which comes with 125+ channels and costs $89.99 per month; Ultimate, which comes with 160+ channels and costs $84.99 per month; and Premier, which comes with 185+ channels and costs $124.99 per month. All plans include local networks where available and unlimited Cloud DVR recording. DIRECTV also offers a current deal where users can receive between $30 to $40 off their first month and $5 to $20 off any following months if they subscribe to a 24-month plan.

Best free trial

Watch Shark Week with Philo

– Seven-day free trial
– 70+ channels

$0+ Buy Now

Philo offers a seven-day free trial and starts at $28 per month, making it one of the cheapest live TV streaming services. Along with offering 70+ channels, Philo comes with 75,000+ movies and shows on demand, as well as unlimited DVR.

50% Off Deal

Watch Shark Week with Sling TV

– Half off your first month
– 30+ channels

$23+ Buy Now

Sling TV offers three plans: Sling Orange, which comes with 34 channels and costs $45.99 per month; Sling Blue, which comes with 47 channels and costs $50.99 per month; and Sling Orange & Blue, which comes with all the channels included in both Sling Orange and Sling Blue and costs $65.99 per month. Sling also has a current deal where users can receive 50% off their first month.

UPGRADE PICK

Watch Shark Week with Hulu + Live TV

– Includes free Hulu, ESPN+, and Disney+ plans

$81.99+ Buy Now

Hulu + Live TV offers four plans. The cheapest plan, Live TV Only, costs $81.99 per month and comes with access to Hulu’s live TV content. The next cheapest plan costs $1 more at $82.99 per month and comes with Hulu’s live TV content, as well as access to Hulu’s streaming library with ads, Disney+ with ads, and ESPN+ with ads. For Disney+ with no ads, users can subscribe for $87.99 per month. And for Hulu and Disney+ with no ads, the price is $95.99 per month.

When is Shark Week 2025?

Shark Week 2025 kicks off Sunday evening, July 20 and wraps up Saturday, July 26. That gives you seven full days of programming to plan your viewing schedule around.

Which celebrities are involved in Shark Week 2025?

The biggest name we know about so far is former Dancing with the Stars host Tom Bergeron, who’s taking on hosting duties for the wild-sounding “Dancing With Sharks.” Discovery is calling it an “unprecedented underwater dance competition between expert divers and their shark partners”—which sounds like something you’d see in a fever dream, and honestly looks the same on execution.

The special features five divers working with an underwater choreographer to compete in what can only be described as the most dangerous dance-off ever filmed. They’ll be performing moves with names like the “Hammerhead Hoedown” and “Tiger Trot” while actual sharks swim around them. It’s the kind of programming that perfectly captures Shark Week’s ability to be both completely ridiculous and absolutely mesmerizing at the same time.

What is the Shark Week 2025 schedule?

This year’s lineup is absolutely stacked. Warner Bros. Discovery is rolling out 20 hours of brand-new specials. Here’s the complete daily breakdown:

Sunday, July 20:

• “Dancing With Sharks” — 8 p.m. EST / 5 p.m. PST
• “Air Jaws: The Hunt for Colossus” — 9 p.m. EST / 6 p.m. PST
• “Great White Assassins” — 10 p.m. EST / 7 p.m. PST

Monday, July 21:

• “Great White Sex Battle” — 8 p.m. EST / 5 p.m. PST
• “Jaws vs. Mega Croc” — 9 p.m. EST / 6 p.m. PST
• “In the Eye of the Storm: Shark Storm” — 10 p.m. EST / 7 p.m. PST

Tuesday, July 22:

• “Great White North Invasion” — 8 p.m. EST / 5 p.m. PST
• “How to Survive a Shark Attack” — 9 p.m. EST / 6 p.m. PST
• “Black Mako of the Abyss” — 10 p.m. EST / 7 p.m. PST

Wednesday, July 23:

• “Expedition Unknown: Shark Files” — 8 p.m. EST / 5 p.m. PST
• “Expedition X: Malpelo Monster Shark” — 9 p.m. EST / 6 p.m. PST
• “Alien Sharks: Death Down Under” — 10 p.m. EST / 7 p.m. PST

Thursday, July 24:

• “Surviving Jaws” — 8 p.m. EST / 5 p.m. PST
• “Caught! Sharks Strike Back” — 9 p.m. EST / 6 p.m. PST
• “Frankenshark” — 10 p.m. EST / 7 p.m. PST

Friday, July 25:

• “Great White Reign of Terror” — 8 p.m. EST / 5 p.m. PST
• “Florida’s Death Beach” — 9 p.m. EST / 6 p.m. PST
• “Bull Shark Showdown” — 10 p.m. EST / 7 p.m. PST

Saturday, July 26:

• “Attack of the Devil Shark” — 8 p.m. EST / 5 p.m. PST
• “Battle for Shark Mountain” — 9 p.m. EST / 6 p.m. PST