’19 Kids and Counting’ loses more sponsors; TLC’s cancellation decision looms

If TLC does decide that they want to continue to air new episodes of “19 Kids and Counting,” they will have to do so with even fewer sponsors on board. We already told you that one major corporation in General Mills backed away from its advertisements last week, and now we are hearing that two others have joined them. According to TMZ, both Payless ShoeSource and Choice Hotels have opted to not advertise during the show following the reports of Josh Duggar’s history molesting minors when he was still a teenager. Duggar has already admitted in a statement to these behaviors.

We should say first and foremost here that losing advertisers is by no means a guarantee that a show is going to come to a close. “Jersey Shore” famously lost many advertisers during their first season on the air, but it went on to be an enormous hit for MTV. However, the reasoning behind the departure of advertisers here is certainly different, and for circumstances far more serious.

While TLC has shuffled their feet so far regarding whether or not this series will come back on the air, we do still feel like there is going to ultimately be nothing that can be done other than cancellation. The longer that they hold out, the more and more this is going to snowball and turn into an avalanche for them. We know at this point that the show’s draw are more some of the Duggar daughters than Josh, but it is very hard to have a narrative on TV that does not include this in some way.

As always, we will give you some further updates on the situation as they come out.

To see some of the other recent news on the “19 Kids and Counting” crisis, head over to the link here. Also, sign up here to get some further TV news sent over to you, courtesy of our official CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: TLC.)