After A&E decided to cancel its top-rated show, Live PD, in the wake of nationwide protests over police brutality, Sony Pictures Television has followed suit and asked TV stations to pull the show’s syndicated spin-off, Live PD Police Patrol, which SPT distributes. TV stations are taking the show off their air this week, a SPT spokeswoman confirmed.
Live PD Police Patrol premiered in syndication in fall 2019. In the week ended June 7, the most recent full week for which national household ratings are available, Live PD Police Patrol averaged a 0.9 live plus same day national household rating, according to Nielsen Media Research.
A&E made the decision to cancel Live PD on Wednesday, June 10. Besides general concern around police treatment of Black people, such as the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, Austin media outlets also had reported that the show had pulled, and then erased, video of the death of Javier Amblin, a Black man, during a police stop in March 2019.
RELATED: A&E Cancels 'Live PD'
A&E had just renewed Live PD a month prior for 160 more episodes. Earlier last week, Paramount Network canceled Cops, which had been on the air for 33 seasons, airing on Fox for the first 25.
Live PD was hosted by ABC legal analyst Dan Abrams, who up until Deadline reported that the show was officially canceled had been tweeting that the show was coming back.
“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,” Abrams tweeted last Wednesday.
The show followed police departments across the country in real time as they went out on patrol. Live PD was executive produced by Big Fish Entertainment, with executive producers Dan Cesareo, Lucilla D’Agostino and John Zito.
