After shelving and cancelling the TV series “Live PD” earlier this summer, A&E has managed to lose nearly half of its prime-time viewers.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the network has seen a 49% drop in prime-time viewership between June 11 and July 19 when compared to the 2019 figures from market research firm Nielsen. Roughly 53% of the decline in viewership was from adults between the ages of 25-54.
A&E referred to its decline in viewership as a “temporary hit,” and anticipated recovering from it in the future with other programs, reports the WSJ. However, A&E’s non prime-time ratings have also been affected, albeit not as severely, with the journal noting a 36% drop in daily average viewership.
“Live PD,” originally designed to give viewers a more accurate picture of policing in near real-time, was unexpectedly cancelled on June 10 amidst the George Floyd protests.
“This is a critical time in our nation’s history and we have made the decision to cease production on Live PD,” A&E told Deadline in a statement in June. “Going forward, we will determine if there is a clear pathway to tell the stories of both the community and the police officers whose role it is to serve them. And with that, we will be meeting with community and civil rights leaders as well as police departments.”
The day before “Live PD” was officially cancelled, host Dan Abrams assured viewers it would still return. The following day, Abrams said he was “shocked” and “beyond disappointed,” seemingly having been convinced the show would continue.
To all of you asking whether #LivePD coming back. . .The answer is yes. All of us associated with the show are as committed to it as ever. We are still discussing some specifics but I want to assure the #LivePDNation that we are not abandoning you.
— Dan Abrams (@danabrams) June 10, 2020
Shocked & beyond disappointed about this. To the loyal #LivePDNation please know I, we, did everything we could to fight for you, and for our continuing effort at transparency in policing. I was convinced the show would go on. . More to come. . .https://t.co/WWh7fDrig2
— Dan Abrams (@danabrams) June 11, 2020
As The Daily Wire previously reported, the show “Cops” was also cancelled ahead of its 33rd season on the air, and some social media users have also called for the cancellation of the animated kids show “Paw Patrol,” which launched in 2013 and features a police dog.
Concerning the “Paw Patrol” cancel mob, The New York Times reported back in June:
It’s a joke, but it’s also not. As the protests against racist police violence enter their third week, the charges are mounting against fictional cops, too. Even big-hearted cartoon police dogs — or maybe especially big-hearted cartoon police dogs — are on notice. The effort to publicize police brutality also means banishing the good-cop archetype, which reigns on both television and in viral videos of the protests themselves. “Paw Patrol” seems harmless enough, and that’s the point: The movement rests on understanding that cops do plenty of harm.
After the White House Press Secretary Kaleigh McEnancy incorrectly said Friday during a press conference that “Paw Patrol” had been cancelled, the show tweeted that it was not, in fact, cancelled.
No need to worry. PAW Patrol is not canceled.
— PAW Patrol (@pawpatrol) July 24, 2020
The tweet appears to be the first time the account has said anything since June 2, back when it announced it would be temporarily muting its own content for several days to “give access for black voices to be heard.”
In solidarity of #amplifymelanatedvoices we will be muting our content until June 7th to give access for Black voices to be heard so we can continue to listen and further our learning. #amplifyblackvoices pic.twitter.com/NO2KeQjpHM
— PAW Patrol (@pawpatrol) June 2, 2020