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When TLC canceled 19 Kids and Counting last month, the network knew it would take a hit. Now we know just how big that hit was.
On this morning's earnings call, TLC's parent company, Discovery Communications, revealed a restructuring charge of $19 million "primarily due to content impairment charges from canceling TLC's 19 Kids and Counting," said CFO Andy Warren.
TLC canceled the reality show July 16, two months after reports surfaced that the oldest of the Duggar children, Josh Duggar, now 27, had molested several underage girls when he was a teenager. While the show will no longer air, TLC will continue to work with the family, producing a one-hour, commercial-free documentary featuring Jill and Jessa Duggar, two of Josh's victims.
Discovery's revenues increased 3 percent in the second quarter of 2015, but earnings were down 2 percent.
"We will look back on July 2015 has a pivotal month in our company's history," said CEO David Zaslav on the call, touting Discovery's acquisition of Eurosport, an agreement to air the Olympic Games in Europe, and inking a long-term renewal deal with Comcast in the U.S.
