When is Shark Week 2026 and how do I watch it without cable?

Trying to catch this year's Shark Week but I don't have a cable subscription. What are the dates and my streaming options?

Shark Week 2026 (its 38th year) runs from Sunday, July 26 through Saturday, August 1, with new specials premiering nightly on Discovery Channel starting at 8pm ET/PT. Without cable, you can stream it live through Discovery+ or HBO Max, both of which carry the programming, or through a live-TV streaming service that includes the Discovery channel, such as Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, Sling, Philo, or DirecTV — most of these offer some kind of free trial period, which is enough to watch the whole week if you time it right. Discovery+ also typically offers a free trial (in some cases bundled through Amazon Prime Video).