Television’s ‘Sábado Gigante’ Problem
*Very good insights in this article – not so much about Sábado Gigante and Don Francisco, but about media in general and Latino media consumers specifically. It turns out that the 53 years of Sábado Gigante came to a screeching halt because consumers are getting younger and changing their viewing habits. VL
By Mac Margolis, Bloomberg View
When Univision announced last week that “Sabado Gigante,” a beloved weekend family variety show, would soon go dark after 53 years on the air, viewers were both puzzled and devastated.
After all, “Sabado Gigante” reaches more than 2 million U.S. viewers a week and many more overseas. It also lords over its time slot on Spanish-language television and, thanks partly to extensive product placement, has been a reliable cash cow for its network, Univision.
Cue the applause for Don Francisco, nom de scene of Mario Kreutzberger, the Chilean-born emcee who for the last half-century has dominated the Latino living room with his iconic lineup of budding talent, musical and dance sketches, slapstick and interviews with presidents and prom queens.
Univision didn’t say why it’s pulling the plug. Kreutzberger, now 74, only added to the mystery last Saturday when he allowed that “Times have changed, we know that, and because of that we need to look for new challenges.” By Tuesday, his on-air goodbye had replayed more than 530,000 times on Facebook.
The unstated challenge is the demographic earthquake that has hit the Latino community in the U.S., shaking legacy media and tugging at the loyalties and tastes of some of its core customers.
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[Photo by panamamusiccorporation/Flickr]