’19 Kids And Counting’ Canceled? Pressure Continues To Mount As Advertisers Leave In Droves


The show 19 Kids And Counting may be moving closer to being cancelled, television experts say, following a steady exodus of advertisers and new revelations against the embattled Duggar family.

Controversy surrounding the show broke last week when a nearly decade-old police investigation against eldest son Josh Duggar surfaced. A teenage Josh was accused of molesting several underage girls, including his own sisters.

In the wake of the Josh Duggar controversy, a number of advertisers have left 19 Kids And Counting, including General Mills, Pizza Hut, and Choice Hotels.

Many of the advertisers have been besieged by fans, who have left messages on Twitter and Facebook pages pleading with the companies to dump 19 Kids And Counting and even threatening boycotts if they stay on.

Some experts say it may be difficult for TLC to cancel 19 Kids And Counting, which still has a large fan base and has been a big revenue-generator for the network. There had been some rumors that the show may try to dump Josh Duggar and continue by focusing on the popular Duggar sisters.

But as experts say, the risk has grown too great for advertisers to stay with 19 Kids And Counting.

“If you’re on the wrong side of a social issue or a citizenship issue, the social media downside is often not worth the benefit of being connected to a company, a show or a celebrity,” Allen Adamson, the chairman of global brand company North America of Landor Associates, told the New York Times. “It’s usually risk management that’s driving this decision.”

It is not just advertisers dumping 19 Kids And Counting. The streaming service Hulu appears to no longer carry the show. The Los Angeles Times reported that when users accessed the show’s page on Hulu, they see a message saying “the page you’re looking for doesn’t exist.”

There have also been new revelations about the 19 Kids And Counting family, including the revelation that parents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar used a rod to spank their children.

The allegations were found in a police report obtained by In Touch Weekly regarding allegations against Josh Duggar.

“Inv. Taylor asked [redacted] about getting spanked. [redacted] said that when [redacted] is bad that [redacted] mother and dad spank [redacted]. Inv. Taylor asked what they use to spank. [redacted] said they have a rod. Inv. Taylor asked if they do this to all the kids and [redacted] said yes. Inv. Taylor asked if they leave any bruising [redacted] said no.”

While TLC has not yet canceled 19 Kids And Counting, it has decided to withdraw all episodes from airing.

[Image via TLC]

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