It must have been devastating for the Duggars to finally lose their longest running show, "19 Kids and Counting," following the official announcement of TLC that they will not air new episodes of the said show. However, things were already bad since the news about Josh Duggar molesting four of his sisters and a baby sitter broke and it just went worse.
On July 16, two months after "19 Kids and Counting" were suspended, TLC has finally made their mind after being non-committal whether the show will return or not and they have decided to cancel the show. The family accepted the network's decision wholeheartedly and just put their trust in the Lord that all things will work for good.
However, the controversy that puts the Duggars in a bad light resulted in a big time loss for the family's financial matters. According to Life & Style, the family has an estimated earnings of $45,000 per episode and the cancellation of the show meant that they will no longer receive the said paycheck. Moreover, the family also lost several sponsors, profitable endorsements and speaking appointments.
In fact, just weeks after the molestation scandal made headlines, several advertisers have decided to remove their ads from the show and among these are Choice Hotels, Payless ShoeSource and Walgreens, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The list of businesses who pulled off from supporting the show goes on, including Ace Hardware, ConAgra Foods, Party City, Pure Leaf Iced Tea, Ricola, Firehouse Subs, Pizza Hut, Crayola, Sherwin-Williams, Allstate Insurance, King's Hawaiian and more, ET Online has learned.
The family has definitely lost their credibility. Some audience even threatened the network that if they do not remove the said show, they will not watch all the shows from TLC because it appears that they just ignore the molestation scandal which is a serious issue. The lack of support from the advertisers and threatening statements from the audience could be among the reasons TLC has decided to pull the plug against the Duggar's show.
"With the show, royalties, sponsorships and speaking engagements ending, the Duggars could be losing $25 million or more a year," says branding expert and Strategic Vision CEO David Johnson as per Life & Style. Johnson added that the Duggars may still have occasional appearances, but their rate would never be the same and probably will be reduced. Moreover, Josh remains controversial and at the moment, no one's going to give him any projects.
The family's refusal to spill their knowledge about the incident was also taken against them. "The stigma is on all of them, because there are so many questions left about what they really do know - and if they are hiding any more secrets," according to Johnson.
Enstarz notes that there are rumors that the Duggars are looking for another network to air their reality show. If the family will find a new home network, the family will definitely be back with their show.
