Discovery boss David Zaslav is giving “Shark Week” a whole new meaning.

Discovery Communications, operator of cable TV networks including Discovery and Animal Planet, is in discussions to acquire Scripps Networks Interactive, owner of Food Network and HGTV, The Post has confirmed.

Insiders said Discovery already has hired bankers to pursue discussions, but cautioned that talks are still in the early stages and haven’t yet come to price.

The discussions have heated up in recent weeks, sources said, with Discovery CEO Zaslav spotted hanging out last week with Scripps Networks CEO Ken Lowe at Allen & Co.’s annual media retreat in Sun Valley, Idaho.

Key gatekeepers for the deal include cable-TV tycoon John Malone, whose 3-percent stake in Discovery is coupled with a 28-percent voting stake. Publishing magnate Sy Newhouse, patriarch of Conde Nast, owns a similar-size voting stake, such that Malone and Newhouse will effectively control Discovery’s next moves, insiders said.

Shares of Discovery and Scripps saw big jumps in early Thursday trading after the Wall Street Journal reported late Wednesday that on-again, off-again talks had been rekindled (paywall).

Scripps Networks Interactive rose 19 percent after closing the Tuesday session at $67.02. Discovery Communications shares rose by 6.5 percent after closing the Tuesday session at $26.05.

Discovery’s enterprise value is $22 billion while Scripps’ market capitalization is $8.54 billion.

The two last discussed a get-together three years ago but the talks never went anywhere, according to sources.

The landscape has changed significantly since then, with pay-TV subscribers declining, distributors offering cheaper limited TV packages and live TV ratings under pressure.

Indeed, Discovery and Scripps lately have been in discussions with Viacom and AMC Networks to offer an entertainment-only “skinny bundle” for cable-TV cord cutters, according to sources close to the talks.

Separately, Scripps appears to have been a target of the Redstone family controlled Viacom, according to several reports.

Discovery’s Zaslav has made a big international bet on sports, acquiring rights to the Olympics to air on its Eurosport network of channels and via online assets. Now, it appears he wants more scale on the domestic front, too.

Scripps Networks is a tricky acquisition given that it has multiple Scripps family owners. The E.W. Scripps trust ended in 2012 and was replaced with a more fractured family trust.

“The timing of this potential transaction could be coming at a good time for Scripps, which is seeing erosion in its ratings trends, especially with HGTV, while investing spending for new initiatives remains elevated,” Erik Handler at MKM Partners told investors in a note.

Mike Morris, an entertainment sector analyst at Guggenheim Partners, told investors there was significant industrial logic behind such a deal, as the two would be able to get stronger rates from distributors.

“We remain unconvinced that a combination, particularly between companies primarily in the non-fiction content networks business, addresses the long-term secular trends of pressure on bundled channels and live-linear viewing,” he added.

Handler said the move would be a positive for Discovery, creating a company with $10.5 billion of revenue and EBITDA of $4.5 billion. The analyst also noted the possibility of $250 million in cost synergies.