Action Newsroom 1283 Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 This is a Giant surprise. Even though I've never watched the show or heard so much about it, it's astonishing that it lasted this long, especially for a variety show. 53 years is one of the (if not THE) biggest accomplishments any TV show that isn't a news program. A huge congrats to the crew and host Don Francisco for it lasting as long as it did, but... Pero todas las cosas deben llegar a su fin http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/univision-end-sabado-gigante-53-789540 Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/14359-univision-to-end-sabado-gigante-after-53-years/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amra 171 Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 I commented about that a couple of weeks ago and people said that Univision wasn't crazy enough to do it, yet they did. http://www.peopleenespanol.com/article/sabado-gigante-univision-don-francisco-despide-adios-final-emision-termina-tras-53-anos Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/14359-univision-to-end-sabado-gigante-after-53-years/#findComment-127143 Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickp 337 Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 First FIFA World Cup leaves Univision and now Don Fransisco stop Sabado Gigante?!?!? What's going on with Univision Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/14359-univision-to-end-sabado-gigante-after-53-years/#findComment-127171 Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkolsen 1684 Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 First FIFA World Cup leaves Univision and now Don Fransisco stop Sabado Gigante?!?!? What's going on with Univision More than likely they are trying to make themselves more financially attractive for a possible sale or most likely an IPO. It's very similar to all the NBCU 2.0 cuts where they cut $750 million, 700 jobs (about 5% of workforce), and filled primetime with cheap shows like Deal or No Deal. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/14359-univision-to-end-sabado-gigante-after-53-years/#findComment-127203 Share on other sites More sharing options...
A3N 1002 Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 More than likely they are trying to make themselves more financially attractive for a possible sale or most likely an IPO. It's very similar to all the NBCU 2.0 cuts where they cut $750 million, 700 jobs (about 5% of workforce), and filled primetime with cheap shows like Deal or No Deal. That may be the case, but this move is beyond dumb, it's stupid of epic proportions. This show was very very popular. It had a very loyal audience, and quite frankly it will alienate a lot of viewers. Yes, this move reeks of cost-cutting, but that's not the fault of the show, the hosts, or the viewers- the blame lies with the inept (previous and present) brass of Univision. They wonder why they have an audience problem, well look around, all they've been doing these past few years is cut, cut, and cut. Their morning program Despierta America is a shell of it's former self- which was highly competitive and number one among the Spanish-language AM programs. Nowadays, they're getting beat by Telemundo in almost all dayparts. The problem with Univision is that they rely too heavily on Televisa and their telenovelas and failed to produce fresh, new, compelling programs to compete with Telemundo. I know that Don Francisco is planning to stay at Univision, but if there is ever an opportunity for Telemundo to poach, then they must act quickly. Does anyone know who owns the rights to Sabado Gigante? Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/14359-univision-to-end-sabado-gigante-after-53-years/#findComment-127206 Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhratbrat 437 Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 I used to drive by the studios in Doral, and in fact they just moved down there not only two years ago from their old location in North Miami Beach (as the Doral studios were not that big until they acquired two big warehouses behind the current area (also behind the Wal-greens and a strip mall). If they [telemundo] want to poach the format, and grab him they can. Its not that far of a drive to Hialeah. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/14359-univision-to-end-sabado-gigante-after-53-years/#findComment-127207 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samantha 2896 Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 That may be the case, but this move is beyond dumb, it's stupid of epic proportions. This show was very very popular. It had a very loyal audience, and quite frankly it will alienate a lot of viewers. Yes, this move reeks of cost-cutting, but that's not the fault of the show, the hosts, or the viewers- the blame lies with the inept (previous and present) brass of Univision. They wonder why they have an audience problem, well look around, all they've been doing these past few years is cut, cut, and cut. Their morning program Despierta America is a shell of it's former self- which was highly competitive and number one among the Spanish-language AM programs. Nowadays, they're getting beat by Telemundo in almost all dayparts. The problem with Univision is that they rely too heavily on Televisa and their telenovelas and failed to fresh, new, compelling programs to compete with Telemundo. I know that Don Francisco is planning to stay at Univision, but if there is ever an opportunity for Telemundo to poach, then they must act quickly. Does anyone know who owns the rights to Sabado Gigante? If I had to guess either Univisión or Canal 13 in Chile would hold the rights. Univisión's reliance on Televisa is a double-edged sword for a variety of reasons. Televisa is Latin America's biggest media giant, and certainly they produce quite a bit of popular programming. But at the same time, not only does the network come off as rather Mexican (not that that's exactly a very bad thing — Mexicans make up 64.6% of all US Hispanics), but Televisa doesn't have a great reputation when it comes to its editorial stance. It's also a profitable business for Televisa; its royalties from Univisión brought in $313.7m in 2014, about 73% of their licensing and syndication revenue. TeleOnce Puerto Rico has not done well under Univisión because it cannot tailor that network programming to a more Caribbean/Puerto Rican taste. And when it comes to news, Telemundo is eating their lunch on the local and national levels. Investment, you see, does wonders for improving your product and ratings, unlike getting ready for an IPO. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/14359-univision-to-end-sabado-gigante-after-53-years/#findComment-127208 Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkolsen 1684 Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 If I had to guess either Univisión or Canal 13 in Chile would hold the rights. ... And when it comes to news, Telemundo is eating their lunch on the local and national levels. Investment, you see, does wonders for improving your product and ratings, unlike getting ready for an IPO. Doesn't Sabado Gigante have a lot of product placement? I wonder how much that contributes to production costs. Any word on what they plan on filling the time slot with? I imagine scripted shows would cost more than this but maybe they will just air reruns of the weeks hottest shows. Also regarding Telemundo I thought part of Comcast's NBCU deal required them to increase Hispanic content. I think it's reasonable to find that as you increase home grown content more viewers will follow. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/14359-univision-to-end-sabado-gigante-after-53-years/#findComment-127210 Share on other sites More sharing options...
T.L. Hughes 890 Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 Doesn't Sabado Gigante have a lot of product placement? I wonder how much that contributes to production costs. Any word on what they plan on filling the time slot with? I imagine scripted shows would cost more than this but maybe they will just air reruns of the weeks hottest shows. Anybody could see coming that Univision's probably going to fill those three hours with soccer matches. The network has aired them on most Saturdays for about four years now, preceding Sabado Gigante (on top of their longstanding Sunday midday matches). It seems doubtful that they would add an entertainment program, and would just follow suit with three of the Big Four networks (ABC, NBC and Fox) by putting sports on Saturday nights part-time. It kind of makes the death of Saturday TV that more finite (even though the major networks and the viewers kind of mutually killed it; SNL is the last vestige left going forward), what with the evening schedules on other networks since CBS dropped its dramas there 11 years ago consisting of reruns, movies, newsmagazines and sports, and mornings consisting of mostly shows that don't qualify as children's programs (and kind of violate the true intent of the Children's Television Act, which was part of the reason why Saturday morning TV died in the first place). It also is sort of the death of one aspect of Spanish language TV that attracted a lot of men to it (even those that are not fluent speakers at all), the fanservice-type programs (remember that Sabado Gigante has those pageants every few weeks, some of you may know what I'm talking about), Estrella TV has hold on that arena now (to an extent) but the others -- even the newer entrants like MundoFox -- have shied away from it. One thing though, is it possible that the decision to end the show was mutually made by Mario "Don Francisco" Kreutzberger (whom I actually thought would retire from the show at some point and pass the torch to another host) and Univision, rather than a means by Univision Communications just to slash the budget? Giving up the show if it does so well on Saturdays, I agree would be a bad decision businesswise (especially if the show helps Univision win Saturday prime time on most weeks). Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/14359-univision-to-end-sabado-gigante-after-53-years/#findComment-127217 Share on other sites More sharing options...
A3N 1002 Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 Anybody could see coming that Univision's probably going to fill those three hours with soccer matches. The network has aired them on most Saturdays for about four years now, preceding Sabado Gigante (on top of their longstanding Sunday midday matches). It seems doubtful that they would add an entertainment program, and would just follow suit with three of the Big Four networks (ABC, NBC and Fox) by putting sports on Saturday nights part-time. It kind of makes the death of Saturday TV that more finite (even though the major networks and the viewers kind of mutually killed it; SNL is the last vestige left going forward), what with the evening schedules on other networks since CBS dropped its dramas there 11 years ago consisting of reruns, movies, newsmagazines and sports, and mornings consisting of mostly shows that don't qualify as children's programs (and kind of violate the true intent of the Children's Television Act, which was part of the reason why Saturday morning TV died in the first place). It also is sort of the death of one aspect of Spanish language TV that attracted a lot of men to it (even those that are not fluent speakers at all), the fanservice-type programs (remember that Sabado Gigante has those pageants every few weeks, some of you may know what I'm talking about), Estrella TV has hold on that arena now (to an extent) but the others -- even the newer entrants like MundoFox -- have shied away from it. One thing though, is it possible that the decision to end the show was mutually made by Mario "Don Francisco" Kreutzberger (whom I actually thought would retire from the show at some point and pass the torch to another host) and Univision, rather than a means by Univision Communications just to slash the budget? Giving up the show if it does so well on Saturdays, I agree would be a bad decision businesswise (especially if the show helps Univision win Saturday prime time on most weeks). I honestly don't think that Don Francisco had any say on whether the show stayed or went. Had that been the case, then Univision could have saved face by saying that he decided to retire and it would have been the end of that. Then again, maybe they're keeping him around to keep Telemundo from poaching him. Either way, Univision f**ked up. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/14359-univision-to-end-sabado-gigante-after-53-years/#findComment-127218 Share on other sites More sharing options...
PelicanGuy 117 Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat? I love that show. As A3N said, it had a VERY loyal following...a few generations to be exact. I don't think production costs were that great, considering it was a variety show. This is a big mistake by Univision. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/14359-univision-to-end-sabado-gigante-after-53-years/#findComment-127219 Share on other sites More sharing options...
lugnuts6 91 Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 Raymie had a good quote that I would like to expand on: Univisión's reliance on Televisa is a double-edged sword for a variety of reasons. Televisa is Latin America's biggest media giant, and certainly they produce quite a bit of popular programming. But at the same time, not only does the network come off as rather Mexican (not that that's exactly a very bad thing — Mexicans make up 64.6% of all US Hispanics), but Televisa doesn't have a great reputation when it comes to its editorial stance. It's also a profitable business for Televisa; its royalties from Univisión brought in $313.7m in 2014, about 73% of their licensing and syndication revenue. Televisa is the BIG guy when it comes to univision, if memory serves correctly, Univision came thisveryclose from LOSING televisa in 2008 when Televisa was doing a little salsa dance with telemundo & its parent NBCUniversal to begin a relationship with Televisa. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/14359-univision-to-end-sabado-gigante-after-53-years/#findComment-127220 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundershock MN 169 Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 Televisa is the BIG guy when it comes to univision, if memory serves correctly, Univision came thisveryclose from LOSING televisa in 2008 when Televisa was doing a little salsa dance with telemundo & its parent NBCUniversal to begin a relationship with Televisa. Televisa got pissed when their overtures to purchase Univision were rebuffed and Univision sold out to the PE consortium. With that said Televisa and Univision are tied together. They for all intents and purposes "kissed and made-up" when Grupo Televisa invested in Univision in 2010 purchasing a 5% equity stake plus convertible debt equal to 30% of Univision's shares and the option to purchase another 5% equity stake within 5 years. Present day Grupo Televisa effectively holds a 38% stake in Univision (8% equity stake plus the convertible debt equal to 30% of Univision's shares) with the option to purchase another 2% equity stake. And, their licensing agreement was extended to 2025 with the investment. If anything Televisa will likely have more control as I really don't see Televisa going anywhere post-IPO/sale. This is all more corporate window dressing & house staging. The PE owners want to sell the farm and get out and they need to make everything look good before the sale. Univision will be fine they are just going through what I'd call a "transition period." Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/14359-univision-to-end-sabado-gigante-after-53-years/#findComment-127223 Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimmykun 13 Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 TeleOnce Puerto Rico has not done well under Univisión because it cannot tailor that network programming to a more Caribbean/Puerto Rican taste. How Univision has run WLII into the ground is nothing but a comedy of errors. It's the classic example of not knowing your audience, not knowing your competition, and not acknowledging the value of local production. Not to mention how bad the relationship with WLII's semi-satellite, WORA, became. WORA was willing to become an English-language station on a Spanish-speaking island just so they wouldn't have to deal with Univision any longer. Hilarious. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/14359-univision-to-end-sabado-gigante-after-53-years/#findComment-127230 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgie56 3307 Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Man. What a shame. Despite my Spanish being very limited, I used to watch it just for the end-of-show car game. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/14359-univision-to-end-sabado-gigante-after-53-years/#findComment-127290 Share on other sites More sharing options...
T.L. Hughes 890 Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 As Sabado Gigante is about to go away, Telemundo plans on keeping variety on Saturdays. It announced at its upfront presentation that it will launch its own variety show on Saturday nights (where it has been airing movies and, more recently, sports for years). http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/top-chef-mexico-vr-and-sports-on-deck-for-telemundo-nbc-universo-1201493824/ Another big initiative is the launch next season of a Saturday night variety show, "La Sopresa de tu Vida" (The Surprise of Your Life) to take advantage of the opening on the night now that Univision’s long-running "Sabado Gigante" is coming to an end in September. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/14359-univision-to-end-sabado-gigante-after-53-years/#findComment-128294 Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkolsen 1684 Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 I don't typically bump threads but this Saturday is the end of Sabado Gigante. The Washington Post had a nice write up of the final taping. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/for-more-than-50-years-univisions-sabado-gigante-was-truly-a-giant/2015/09/16/2172f130-57f2-11e5-8bb1-b488d231bba2_story.html?tid=sm_fb Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/14359-univision-to-end-sabado-gigante-after-53-years/#findComment-135276 Share on other sites More sharing options...
T.L. Hughes 890 Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 There actually will be a replacement for Sabado Gigante. Univision will apparently be moving Sabadazo, a somewhat more family-friendly variety series (focusing more on music and games, whereas Gigante had a much broader format) that's been airing on Saturday afternoons for about the past two years, to Sabado Gigante's former primetime slot on October 17. The show has been on hiatus for the last several weeks, with the 8:00 to 11:00 p.m. Eastern timeslot formerly held by Gigante being kept warm by reruns of La Rosa de Guadalupe and specials on Sabado Gigante this past Saturday (September 26) and this coming Saturday (October 3), and the U.S.-Mexico CONCACAF Cup game on October 10. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/14359-univision-to-end-sabado-gigante-after-53-years/#findComment-136037 Share on other sites More sharing options...
NEOMatrix 1299 Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 I just watched some of Sabadazo on YouTube and it looks like Univision is going to lose some ratings over to Telemundo. To me, that move highlights all the problems with Univision in a nutshell. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/14359-univision-to-end-sabado-gigante-after-53-years/#findComment-136043 Share on other sites More sharing options...
A3N 1002 Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 I just watched some of Sabadazo on YouTube and it looks like Univision is going to lose some ratings over to Telemundo. To me, that move highlights all the problems with Univision in a nutshell. They're going to lose viewers/ratings anyhow. Sabadazo is NOT Sabado Gigante, so those who are thinking that it will be the same or even a replacement for S.G. are mistaken. Sabadazo is produced at/by Televisa in Mexico City, and has been around for a while now. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/14359-univision-to-end-sabado-gigante-after-53-years/#findComment-136045 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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