Sábado Gigante was a Spanish-language television program broadcast by Spanish International Network in the United States. It was also Univision's longest-running program and the longest-running television variety series in world television history. Sábado Gigante was an eclectic and frenetic mix of various contests, human-interest stories, and live entertainment. From its start in 1962, it was hosted by Chilean TV star Mario Kreutzberger under the stage name of Don Francisco. Rolando Barral began serving as a co-host in 1986; that role was taken over by Javier Romero in 1991. The three-hour program aired on Univision each Saturday night at 8:00 p.m.. A new episode was produced every week throughout the show's history, with no reruns and only rare pre-emptions due to special programming. On April 17, 2015, Univision announced that Sábado Gigante would end after 53 years, with its final episode airing on September 19, 2015.
Created by | Don Francisco |
Presented by | Don Francisco, Rolando Barral (1986-1988), Pedro de Pool (1988–1991), Javier Romero (1991–2015) |
Country of origin | Chile (1962–1992), United States (1986–2015) |
Original language(s) | Spanish |
No. of seasons | 53 |
Camera setup | Multi-camera |
Running time | Approx. 2 hours, 15 minutes (without commercials), 3 hours (with commercials), 4 hours (1986-2001, with commercials) |
Distributor | Canal 13 1962-2015 (Chile), Spanish International Network (1986-1988) (U.S.), Univision and Las Estrellas (1988-2015) (U.S.) |
Original network | Canal 13 (Chile) 1962-2015, SIN 1986-1988 (U.S.) Univision, Las Estrellas (MX) (U.S.) 1988-2015 |
Picture format | 480i (SDTV), 1080i (HDTV) |
Related shows | Siempre Niños |
About Sábado Gigante
Created by Don Francisco, the three-hour program would feature contests, human-interest stories, and live entertainment.
Achievement of Sábado Gigante
It became Univision's longest-running program and the longest-running TV variety series in history.
Top Facts You Did Not Know About Sábado Gigante
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Latest information about Sábado Gigante updated on July 28 2021.