Nearly twice as many people as usual watched the Spanish-language television institution โSabado Gigante.โ They turned out for the showโs farewell on Univision after 53 years on the air.
The Nielsen company said that 3.4 million people saw host Don Franciscoโs adios in the United States. The three-hour variety show, whose name translates to โgiant Saturdayโ and is a mix of celebrity appearances and amateur talent contests, reached 1.9 million viewers on a typical Saturday this year. The finale was the showโs fourth-biggest audience ever in the U.S., with the top being 3.5 million for an episode in January 2005.
The measurement doesnโt include other Latin American countries, where the show is also seen, and for which no immediate viewership estimate was available.
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama taped messages for the final show, which featured performances by musicians Luis Fonsi, Espinoza Paz, Intocable, Juanes and Laura Pausini.
Francisco, whose real name is Mario Kreutzberger, began his show in Chile. It moved to Miami in 1986, when Univision began televising it. Univision is replacing โSabado Giganteโ with another variety show, โSabadazo,โ which will feature comedy and Latin musicโs Top Ten for the week.
Football and the second Republican presidential debate dominated the weekโs ratings, won by NBC on the strength of its Sunday night football game. That game also cut into viewing of the annual Emmy Awards, with 11.9 million viewers the smallest audience in the showโs televised history.
For the week in prime time, NBC averaged 8.7 million viewers, CBS had 6.7 million, Fox had 5.3 million, ABC had 4.3 million, Univision had 2.5 million, Telemundo had 1.4 million, ION Television had 1.1 million and the CW had 1 million.
ESPN was the most-watched cable network in prime time, averaging 4.14 million viewers. CNN had 3.59 million, Fox News Channel had 1.59 million, the Disney Channel had 1.58 million and USA had 1.49 million.
NBCโs โNightly Newsโ topped the evening newscasts with an average of 8 million viewers. ABCโs โWorld Newsโ was second with 7.6 million and the โCBS Evening Newsโ had 6.3 million viewers.
Here are primetime viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen for Sept. 14-20. Listings include the weekโs ranking and viewership.
1. NFL Football: Seattle at Green Bay, NBC, 26.38 million.
2. Republican Presidential Debate, CNN, 23.06 million.
3. NFL Football: Denver at Kansas City, CBS, 21.12 million.
4. โSunday Night NFL Preview,โ NBC, 18.88 million.
5. โRepublican Debate Preview,โ CNN, 18.83 million.
6. NFL Football: Minnesota at San Francisco, ESPN, 14.33 million.
7. โFootball Night in Americaโ (Sunday, 8 p.m.), NBC, 14.15 million.
8. NFL Football: Philadelphia at Atlanta, ESPN, 13.56 million.
9. โDancing With the Stars,โ ABC, 13.21 million.
10. โKickoff to the Emmys,โ Fox, 12.7 million.
11. โNFL Pregame Show,โ CBS, 11.92 million.
12. โEmmy Awards,โ Fox, 11.87 million.
13. โAmericaโs Got Talentโ (Tuesday), NBC, 11.4 million.
14. โAnderson Cooper 360โ (Wednesday), CNN, 10.89 million.
15. โAmericaโs Got Talentโ (Wednesday), NBC, 9.69 million.
16. โThursday Night NFL Kickoff,โ CBS, 8.7 million.
17. โ60 Minutes,โ CBS, 8.05 million.
18. College Football: Mississippi vs. Alabama, ESPN, 7.61 million.
19. โFootball Night in Americaโ (Sunday, 7:30 p.m.), NBC, 6.96 million.
20. โThe Big Bang Theory,โ CBS, 6.61 million.