Also, he doesn’t want you writing good reviews of the cable channel’s reality shows anyway, New York and L.A. critics
Discovery Communications CEO David Zaslav admits that TLC is down, but promises it is not out. And those challenges the cable channel currently faces? All due to some rotten luck.
“TLC is a little bit more of a culturally driven brand … it’s a little bit more erratic,” Zaslav began addressing the channel’s rough ratings year at Monday’s UBS media conference. “But also, we got a little bit unlucky, I think, with TLC.”
The executive was referring to canceling TLC’s top show “19 Kids and Counting” due to a molestation scandal surrounding star Josh Duggar. Fellow hit series “Here Comes Honey Boo-Boo” was axed for an eerily similar situation.
Also Read: Josh Duggar Sued by Porn Star Over Alleged Rough Sex Injuries
“We also need to probably work a little harder at getting it right,” he said, “but I think our strategy is right.”
And what is that strategy, exactly?
“TLC is middle America,” Zaslav explained. “We basically say, ‘Forget New York and L.A.’ We don’t want anybody writing great reviews of our content in the New York Times or the L.A. Times.”
Good reviews or poor ones, Zaslav is confident in a coming TLC resurgence: “I think we can build back up,” he said of the once-mighty reality channel.
Also Read: Discovery, Liberty Global to Purchase 3.4 Percent Each of Lionsgate
Earlier in the 43rd Annual Global Media and Communications Conference panel, Zaslav took a swipe at certain unnamed subscriber video on demand platforms.
“Some of the SVOD platforms I just don’t think are rational,” he opined, kicking a little dirt on TV’s latest trend. “They only exist because of our content.”
“Essentially — not to be too pejorative — those are dumb pipes,” Zaslav added, vaguely speaking about unspecified devices, interfaces, and wires.
Also Read: Discovery Tops Earnings Expectations on Domestic Growth
To avoid the “dumb” stuff, Zaslav predicted that his company will stick to its TV Everywhere push, an option that grants “more control of the consumer experience — and more curation by us, rather than others,” he said.
Discovery owns all of its own content, which isn’t the case of many competitors.
Other executive panels on Monday’s busy media conference schedule included AMC Networks, with boss Josh Sapan; Viacom, represented by Philippe Dauman; and Netflix, which brought Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos to the New York City stage.
13 Reality Shows Killed by Scandal Before '19 Kids and Counting': 'Megan Wants a Millionaire' to 'Buckwild' (Photos)
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These reality television shows made their exit from the small screen in unfavorable ways. Will "19 Kids and Counting" follow a similar path?
Getty Images/TLC/MTV
MTV suspended production on "Buckwild," marketed as the "redneck version" of "Jersey Shore," following the death of cast member Shain Gandee. The 21-year-old was found dead of accidental carbon monoxide poisoning.
MTVNever mind that Liza Minnelli and David Gest separated the following year, VH1 dropped "Liza and David" before its first episode aired because Gest was "impossible to work with."
Twitter/@LoveYouMoreMJ_"Kid Nation," a show about 40 kids running their own town with minimal adult interference, was axed by CBS when it was accused of exploiting the children's welfare and being the "sweatshop of the entertainment industry."
CBSCeeLo Green’s reality show "The Good Life" was canned by TBS days after the musician pleaded no contest to a felony charge of giving a woman the drug ecstasy. He then tweeted: “People who have really been raped REMEMBER!!!”
Getty Images"Pretty Wild" was slated to become E!'s next reality family success story after the Kardashians. The show followed momager Andrea Arlington and her three wannabe model daughters Alexis Neiers, Tess Taylor and Gabby Neiers. Alexis was arrested after shooting the pilot as one of the members of the "Bling Ring," a group of teenage thieves who broke into celebrity homes like Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan. "Pretty Wild" included some of the trial in its first season and did not opt to renew.
Getty ImagesTLC quickly canceled "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" after reports came out that June Shannon, mother to the young star of the series, was resuming her relationship with a man who was convicted of molesting another one of her daughters.
TLCRyan Jenkins, the Canadian man suspected of killing model Jasmine Fiore and then taking his own life, appeared first as a contestant on "Megan Wants A Millionaire" and then on "I Love Money 3." Though the incident happened months after he was on either show, VH1 pulled the plug on both. "Megan Wants A Millionaire" was yanked mid-season, while "I Love Money 3" was not set to air for another year.
VH1"Ev and Ocho" was a VH1 series following newlyweds NFL receiver Chad Johnson (aka Ochocinco) and “Basketball Wives” star Evelyn Lozada. VH1 yanked the show after the new groom was arrested on a domestic violence charge for head-butting his new bride.
VH1"Armed and Famous" followed five stars (La Toya Jackson, Erik Estrada, Jack Osbourne, Jason "Wee-Man" Acuna and Trish Stratus) who enrolled in the Police Academy in Muncie, Indiana, and served as part of its patrol. The show was canceled after four episodes due to ratings ... And perhaps because Estrada got into a public shouting match with a suspect. Also, a woman sued the show for wrongful entry and illegal search.
CBS"Jon & Kate Plus 8" became "Kate Plus 8" when Jon and Kate Gosselin announced their split during the show's fifth season finale. Jon wasn't pleased to be kicked off the show and tried to stop TLC from filming his children altogether.
TLCA&E yanked "The Two Coreys," which featured child stars Corey Haim and Corey Feldman, after Haim suffered a drug abuse relapse while shooting the second season. Feldman said he would no longer deal with his friend's substance addiction. Haim died in March 2010.
A&E;"Flip It Forward" features twin brothers Jason and David Benham in their own HGTV series. Or, it would, had the network not shut down those plans after learning about homophobic, anti-Muslim and anti-abortion statements they’d made in the past.
HGTVLast month, it was revealed that Josh Duggar had inappropriately touched five underage girls – four of which are his sisters – when he was a teenager. TLC pulled all episodes of "19 Kids and Counting" off the air, but has stopped short of definitively canceling the show. Considering the backlash and how many of its sponsors have dropped out, it's a matter of "when" and not "if" the show will get axed.
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Though not officially canceled, the Duggars are expected to get the boot from TLC
These reality television shows made their exit from the small screen in unfavorable ways. Will "19 Kids and Counting" follow a similar path?