How to watch Shark Week 2023 online: stream on Discovery Plus from anywhere

How to watch Shark Week 2023 online

In the US you can watch Discovery's Shark Week on its cable channel or through an cord cuttings service like. On-demand streaming options includes Max service and Discovery Plus. The latter platform is where UK and Canadian viewers can stream every new Shark Week show. Away from home? Connect to your regional service with a VPN.

Watch Shark Week 2023: Introduction

All hail the King of Atlantis! Yes, Aquaman star Jason Momoa will be presiding over Shark Week this year, introducing viewers to over 20 hours of fin-tastic new programming featuring those fascinating, toothy predators that dwell in our oceans. With unbelievable exposés (*gulp*. Cocaine Sharks!), and ground-breaking wildlife footage (Alien Sharks: Strange New Worlds), cancel your plans for late July and settle in for seven awesome days of shark-related shows.

Beginning in 1988 and featuring documentaries, miniseries, celebrity specials, and many hairy encounters with fearsome great whites, Shark Week has become something of a Discovery Channel institution – so much so that it was even name-checked in The Meg, the 2018 creature feature about the largest shark to have ever existed.

Providing a deep dive on the existence of that 50-foot beast, this year's Jaws vs the Meg (Sunday, July 23 at 9pm ET) will see scientists debating the reason for its extinction over 3 million years ago, floating the theory that Great Whites were responsible for its demise.

In a Shark Week first, meanwhile, viewers will find themselves at the center of an attack to a life-sized whale decoy in Belly of the Beast: Feeding Frenzy (Sunday night at 8pm), with camera’s capturing the assault by a shiver of ferocious sharks.

If you want to see more buzzed apex predators after Cocaine Bear, then strap yourself in for Cocaine Sharks (Wednesday, 10pm). Think "Scarface by the Sea" as Tom Hird investigates what happens when these elasmobranch fish imbibe large quantities of the Class A drug in the waters off the Florida Keys.

Blood in the Water will explore why Florida is known as the Shark Attack Capital of the World, and Forrest Galante will go Down Under to discover whether sea snakes might be killing off Western Australia's tiger sharks in Shark vs Snake: Battle of the Bites on Thursday, July 27 at 10pm.

Prepare to take a bite out of the packed Discovery Channel schedule as we explain in our guide below how to watch Shark Week 2023 online from anywhere.

How to watch Shark Week on Discovery Plus in the US, UK and Canada

Shark Week begins on the Discovery Channel from 8pm ET/PT on Sunday, July 23 and airs all-day, every day until Sunday, July 30. Brand-new shows are scheduled for the evening and those with cable, you can catch everything live as it airs.

If you’ve cut the cord, though, no problem. Discovery Plus is the streaming home for everything that's broadcast on the Discovery Channel. It’s $4.99 for the ad-supported plan, or you can opt for ad-free plan at $6.99 a month. If you’re a new subscriber, however, you can dive in with their 7-day free trial and pay nothing until that period expires.

In Canada, the price points for Discovery Plus are exactly the same as the US. There’s no free trial at the moment, but starting at CA$4.99 a month you’ll get access to dozens of episodes from over 2500 shows from TV brands like Discovery, Animal Planet, Food Network, the Trvl channel and more, along with Discovery Plus Original content and iconic BBC natural history shows like Africa and Planet Earth II.

Discovery Plus in the UK doesn’t offer a free trial currently, but it’s only £3.99 a month for its Entertainment plan, which includes shows like Expedition Unknown, Naked and Afraid, Ghost Adventures and 90 Day Fiancé.  And if you’re eager for a hefty dose of sports content (cycling, snooker, motorsports and more), you’ll want to try the £6.99 a month Entertainment & Sports membership plan.

While content differs from country to country, the service offers programming from Discovery’s many networks, including HGTV, Food Network, Discovery Science, ID, Animal Planet, the Discovery Channel and more.

Alternatively, you can now stream Shark Week 2023 shows on Max, Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming service, with plans starting at $9.99 a month. Not only can you then stream programmes like Air Jaws: Final Frontier and Great White Fight Club, but iconic HBO series, Max originals, and Warner Brothers blockbusters too.

How to watch Shark Week online from outside your country

If you're abroad right now, regional restrictions may prevent you from taking a bite of Shark Week 2023 online.

Luckily, a VPN offers a simple solution. This piece of software alters your IP address to that of another country, which means you can gain access to your preferred IPTV service and watch episodes of the Discovery Channel’s fin-tastic new documentaries from anywhere.

Use a VPN to watch Shark Week 2023 online from abroad:

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Once downloaded, find the location of your home country – or select it from the pre-defined list – and just click connect. 

Watch Shark Week online and live stream the Discovery Channel for FREE

Shark Week will be broadcast from Sunday, July 23 to Sunday, July 30 on the Discovery Channel, as well as being available on-demand with Discovery Plus. But if you’ve long since cancelled your cable subscription, you can easily pick up an excellent OTT service – and at a fraction of the price.

Sling TV is the most affordable option. The Discovery Channel is part of a Sling TV Blue subscription, which comes with a line-up of over 40 channels, including BET, Bravo, Fox News, the Food Network and National Geographic. New subscribers currently pay $25 for their first month of membership, with subsequent months costing the full price of $45.

Meanwhile, FuboTV is a comprehensive cable alternative with significantly more channels than Sling (around 150) and lots of sports coverage. The entry-level Pro plan costs $74.99 after the 7-day free trial but you can cancel at any time.

Not in the US right now? Don't worry - all you need is a top-notch VPN and you'll be able to watch all the same streaming services and shows you would back home, wherever you are.

Can I watch Shark Week online on Discovery Plus in Australia?

Alas, Discovery Plus hasn’t been rolled out in Australia yet. However, there are whispers that a combined platform uniting HBO Max content and Discovery Plus shows could be in the pipeline.

The software is ideal because it allows you to change your IP address and watch the same streaming content you’d enjoy back home - and all through a safe, encrypted connection. But do bear in mind that most paid streaming services do require a credit card based in the same country as the service.

That means if you’re abroad trying to watch Shark Week through your usual services, have trouble accessing the shows you’d normally enjoy. That’s where a VPN is invaluable. Simply download one of the best VPN service providers to point yourself back home and access your geo-restricted services from anywhere in the world.

Shark Week 2023 trailer