I saw the Nielsen ratings for last Saturday night (11/27/2010) and was surprised to see Sabado Gigante, the long-running variety show on spanish-language channel Univision, rating 1.2 for the night. That puts this warhorse in a strong fifth place amongst broadcast networks -- only .4 of a ratings point behind Fox. This is particularly interesting when you remember that Sabado Gigante (Big Saturday) is performed entirely in Spanish. Yet the show beat some English language networks (Ion, and others) in the ratings.
I must confess to being a fan for many years of Sabado Gigante and Don Francisco. I can enjoy the show even though my Spanish skills stalled at the high school level. It's always clear what's going on, even if you don't speak the language. If you don't like the current act, just wait five minutes. There's bound to be soneone on that you do like.
These high ratings demonstrate the importance of the Spanish speaking audience. But I think they also show that the time might be ripe to revive Variety shows on network television. When I was growing up, the Ed Sullivan show was the most popular, but other highly-viewed Variety shows included The Dean Martin show, the Sonny and Cher show, the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, and Laugh-In, among others. Audiences enjoyed the ecapist entertainment of songs, jokes, sketches, and novelty acts. I think today's economic circumstances provide the environment where a good variety show can flourish.
Don't beleive me? The two most popular weekly network series are variety shows. American Idol showcases a variety of musical acts and Dancing with the Stars shows a variety of dance acts. I wouldn't be surprised if the broadcast networks' development slates include new takes on the tried and true variety format. If they don't already, maybe the time is right for you to create one.
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