’19 Kids & Counting’ Cancellation Costs Discovery $19 Million

CFO Andrew Warren quantifies “content impairment charges” of cutting ties with the Duggar Family

Discovery took a pretty hefty loss when it lost the Duggar family: about $19 million, to be exact.

On the company’s post-earnings conference call Wednesday morning, Chief Financial Officer Andrew Warren cited “higher restructuring and other charges this year of $19 million, primarily due to content impairment charges of canceling TLC’s “19 Kids & Counting.”

The company’s total charges for the three-month period were actually $24 million; the $19 million figure Warren cited marked the difference between Q2 2014’s $5 million charge.

TLC canceled “19 Kids” a few months after a molestation scandal surrounding cast member Josh Duggar became public. There is a chance that some of the Duggars — most likely Jill and Jessa — will return via a spinoff. The two will take part in an upcoming one-hour special as part of an initiative to raise awareness about child abuse.

“19 Kids” was TLC’s highest-rated show.

In last year’s final quarter, Discovery took impairment charges on the cancellation of “Here Comes Honey Boo-Boo.” That show ended under eerily similar circumstances as “19 Kids.”

For 2015’s Q2, Discovery’s revenue ticked up, but net income dropped 25 percent.

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