We know Queens residents are fans of tortoises, but the people of the “World’s Borough” are apparently also huge fans of sharks.
According to information released by Verizon Fios, Queens increased its viewership of the Discovery Channel by over 70 minutes during the station’s popular event Shark Week last year.
Shark Week is when Discovery Channel dedicates an entire week’s worth of prime-time programming to one of nature’s most feared killers. Shows that are often featured during Shark Week include documentaries, movies, educational shows, and more.
In 2016 Verizon Fios calculated that Queens residents spent four hours and 16 minutes a week watching Discovery Channel. However, during Shark Week 2016, the average time spent watching Discovery Channel per week rose to four hours and 87 minutes, for an additional 71 minutes per week spent watching the station.
However, compared to Verizon’s data from other cities along the east coast, Queens was not the biggest city of shark lovers during last year’s Shark Week.
Massachusetts averaged 4.87 hours per week watching Discovery Channel, and saw a boost to 5.95 hours during Shark Week, Buffalo spent 4.58 hours per week on average and 5.92 hours during Shark Week, and Richmond, VA. clocked 4.53 hours per week on average and 6.24 hours during the channel’s week-long special.
This year’s Shark Week kicked off on Sunday, July 23, with some controversy during the extensively promoted “Phelps Vs Shark: Great Gold Vs Great White” where Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps was to race against a great white shark. Fans were upset when it was revealed that Phelps was racing against a computer-generated image (CGI) shark instead of a real great white.
Shark Week continues through Sunday, July 30.
