In the wake of the death of George Floyd back in May, A&E cancelled the show “Live PD” despite the fact that it was the network’s highest rated program. Now, this move has come back to bite the network big time, as it has lost half its viewers.

A&E cancelled “Live PD” on June 10, and the ratings for the entire network immediately plummeted.

“Average prime-time viewership for A&E between June 11 and July 19 was 498,000 people, down 49% from the same period last year, according to data from Nielsen,” Fox Business reported. “In the key demographics of adults 18-49 and 25-54, the declines are 55% and 53%, respectively.”

“Live PD” followed police officers live in cities all over America, and it averaged about 1.9 million viewers for its Friday and Saturday night episodes. Repeats were then aired throughout the week, and the show spawned various spin-offs that were cancelled as well despite being huge successes.

A&E released a statement referring to the ratings dip as a “temporary hit in the ratings” that the network had anticipated, given how successful “Live PD” was. The network went on to say that it has always been able to “find new hits and reinvent ourselves,” indicating that it plans to do so again.

Fans were stunned when A&E announced “Live PD’s” cancellation after Floyd’s death as anti-cop tensions boiled over across the country.

“This is a critical time in our nation’s history and we have made the decision to cease production on ‘Live PD,'” the network said in a statement upon announcing the cancellation. “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.”

Fans of “Live PD” have actively called for a boycott of A&E until the show is brought back to television, which is something that the network hasn’t entirely ruled out.

“We are continuing to listen to both community leaders and ‘Live PD’ fans to find a way to serve both moving forward,” A&E said in a statement this week.