• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, Yesterday

As live, linear TV erosion remains a challenge, “brand-safe” programming issues now can be a focus for many TV advertisers -- especially now via a new edition of the ABC TV network series "The Bachelorette."

Over the years, "unscripted" TV shows have been a challenge for brands -- especially ones that follow real-life characters where real-life behaviors before or during productions cause headaches for TV show producers.

Controversy over the cancellation of the upcoming new season of ABC’s "The Bachelorette" has already caused major disruption in terms of million of dollars in missed advertising revenue.

In 2024, the most recent “Bachelorette” edition running from July through September pulled $30.9 million in national TV advertising, according to estimates from iSpot.

The biggest advertisers in that edition of the show, in terms of airings, were Kohl's (46), Target (34) and Samsung Mobile (34).

For the current scheduled upcoming season, ABC already placed promotional messaging on the network with a media value of $8.2 million -- from 870 airings since February 9. It was the third-most promoted show since that time, behind “RJ Decker” and “Scrubs.”

The losses on the just-cancelled “Bachelorette” show are actually worse, as my daughter reminded me. Each of the roughly 12 episodes cost $2 million to produce, projecting a total production loss of as much as $24 million for the entire season.

The show was cancelled last week because of an alleged assault by Taylor Frankie Paul --  from a video and reports -- who pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in 2023. Paul was going to be the star of this edition of the show.

Looking at other versions of the series show similar advertising data results: In the fall of 2024, “The Golden Bachelorette” pulled in $20 million in national TV advertising.

The most recent version of “The Bachelor” -- January through March 2025 -- witnessed an estimated $36 million in ad revenue. Biggest brands for that edition: Starbucks (25), Verizon (14), Kohl’s (13), Claritin (11), and Tremfya (10).

TV networks have been through much of this over the years -- especially cable TV unscripted series where it was revealed that some participants’ history allegedly had incidents of inappropriate behavior, racist language, negative stereotypes or other issues.

While vetting of show participants continues, those efforts are not always perfect. For its part ABC Television Network made the somewhat easy and quick decision to pull the plug on this “Bachelorette.”

Looking forward, what protections can TV networks and brands make going forward? The problem stems from the obvious genre descriptor: Unscripted.