Univision cancels 'Sábado Gigante'

Gary Levin | USA TODAY

Univision is pulling the plug on Sábado Gigante, the three-hour weekly variety show, after a 53-year run, including 30 on the U.S.'s top-rated Spanish-language network.

Gigante, hosted by Chilean-born Mario Kreutzberger, 74, known on air as Don Francisco, is a hybrid of a game show, a music-performance show and sketch-comedy series, mixed with plenty of product placement. The show's title translates to "Giant Saturday."

Ratings have been remarkably consistent in recent years, have grown in each of the last three quarters and averaged 2.1 million viewers for last weekend's episode. The show's final airing is scheduled for Sept. 19.

Univision declined to comment on the reason for the cancellation or its plans for the timeslot. But in a statement, the network said, "There's no doubt that the dynamic mix of humor, amateur talent contests, audience games, human-interest stories, celebrity interviews, emotional family reunions, and the presence of some of the biggest Latin music stars have granted Sábado Gigante over the past five decades the privilege of becoming an indisputable milestone in the history of international television."

The show began airing in Chile in 1962, expanded throughout Latin America in the 1970s and moved to Miami in 1986, when it began airing on Univision.

Kreutzberger, who will continue to host specials on the network, including an annual telethon to benefit disabled children, said: "From the start we made sure to ask, 'What does the audience want?!' And we have worked tirelessly for precisely that audience, with the utmost dedication, humility and deep respect.

"I have no words to acknowledge all the recognition and applause that we have received over the years. When we began in the United States in 1986, we told them that we were 'separated by distance and united by the same language.' Today I can say with great pride and satisfaction that that distance turned into closeness and affection. To all those who joined us by tuning in to Sábado Gigante with their constructive criticism, work and loyalty, I would like to say from the bottom of my heart and in capital letters, THANK YOU VERY MUCH."