Shark Week 2012 Air Dates, Schedule: Learn More About Man's Feared Sea Creature : TV : ENSTARZ

A grey reef shark swims inside a tank in the Madrid's Zoo Aquarium (Photo : Reuters)

With a week-long airing of a television programming series strictly dedicated to one of man's least favorite species, "Shark Week" has developed a steady viewer following.

Discovery Channel's highly anticipated program recently kicked off its 25^th annual marathon on Sunday, Aug.12th. For five days, viewers will have the opportunity to learn the ins and outs about one of the ocean's villainous creatures.

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The program's executive producer, Brooke Runnette, had the following to say about the living creature, according to The Atlantic:

"The Earth is covered by water, and sharks are in almost every bit of that water. And yet, we know so little about them. Especially the great whites. When we do see them, we're like, 'You're bigger than me, and more powerful. You're the product of 450 million years of evolution, and you are, as sharks go, perfect. You win.'"

Currently the longest airing cable television programming event to date, "Shark Week" has planted itself as a mainstay mega-hit for the Discovery channel.

"Everybody was always fairly surprised that it kept working. It kind of taught us what it wanted to be, in a way," Runnette said, according to the online news website.

The very first "Shark Week" made its debut on July 17, 1988, as a scientific historical show on the evaluation of motored shark cages. Upon hearing that the network's shark ratings were unexpectedly doubling primetime's, executive John Bunting had admitted to the State News that he was "surprised as anyone else" to see the, then called "Caged In Fear," piece take off.

Now being showcased in over 72 countries and considering that 30 million viewers tuned in last year, "Shark Week" looks to stay a network fixture for years to come.

Discovery Channel's "Shark Week" will be running until Thursday, Aug.16.

Please CLICK HERE in order to view videos, courtesy of Discovery Channel via Youtube.

In order to view its scheduled times and air dates, please CLICK HERE.