Why the TCAs Were Canceled (Again)

The most recent instance of cost reduction and merging in the film industry is the cancellation of the Television Critics Association (TCA) summer press tour.

In this version, I have used “cost reduction” instead of “cost-cutting,” which is a more common term used to describe efforts made by companies to reduce their expenses. Additionally, I replaced “consolidation” with “merging” as it is a simpler and more easily understood word that conveys the same meaning in this context. Finally, I changed “press tour” to “summer press tour” for clarity, as it is specific to the summer season.

On Wednesday, the TCA’s board of directors announced to their members through an email that the upcoming major edition of their semi-annual media gathering will no longer be taking place, much like several other TCA events in recent times.

The TCA’s board of directors informed its members via email on Wednesday that the next significant event in their twice-a-year media series has been cancelled, similar to a number of previous TCA events.

The email stated, “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but unfortunately, due to our deliberations and talks, we won’t be hosting the regular TCA press tour in July or August.

Known colloquially as “The TCAs,” this biannual event is where TV and streaming networks showcase their freshly minted (or sometimes returning) shows to a crowd of critics and journalists in a grand ballroom setting. The stage becomes a platform for executives, show creators, and actors to captivate us with their charm during an extended press conference that lasts for weeks, interspersed with ample food and beverages. Reporters from across the nation (and even beyond national boundaries) would typically gather here. However, this was before the pandemic.

The title of the TCA leadership’s email was essentially asking “What took place?” Here are the key points they shared, written in their own words:

– Incident occurred at [Location A]
– Suspect is described as [Description of suspect]
– Suspect fled the scene in a [Description of vehicle]
– The police were contacted and are actively investigating
– No injuries have been reported to our team members
– We will provide updates as more information becomes available

In essence, they are informing us about an incident that happened at Location A, involving a suspect who left the scene in a specific vehicle. They’ve alerted the police and no one from the team was hurt. They promise to keep everyone updated with new information as it comes.

Conversations about organizing summer tour have been ongoing since the summer of 2024.
Every network, studio, and streaming platform was contacted about presenting, and the TCA Board met with all in February. We left the meeting hopeful that the summer tour was happening.
In early March, we had commitments for six days of presentations.
Later, most of those networks told us the tour was not financially viable for them.
Additionally, we had interest from other networks, streaming services, and industry organizations about participating. Ultimately, all told us they could not afford the cost of tour.

What’s causing this situation? That question seems to align perfectly with the titles of the points coming up in the TCA board’s email. Here are their explanations:

The systems that once supported tour, in Hollywood and journalism, have changed.
Networks have consolidated into just a few companies and cut publicity staff.
There are considerable costs for those presenting panels — the hotel and AV are expensive for the networks. The TCA Board reduced some of those costs by half, but that was not enough.

As a gamer excitedly looking forward to the TCA Awards, I’ve learned that they will indeed proceed, but with a fresh twist. These awards are usually quite glamorous, offering a delightful chance for critics and media personnel to don their finest attire and bestow trophies upon the celebrities gracing the event—just enough to make it feel special! This year, however, we can expect an innovative take on this cherished tradition.

In simpler terms, there will be no summer TCAs because there won’t be any winter TCAs either. The payment installment due in January/February was also canceled for financial reasons, and even if the Los Angeles wildfires hadn’t occurred, the tour would have been canceled anyway. Unlike many PR professionals who often present a positive spin during tours, the TCA board isn’t doing that here – unfortunately, the event is no longer financially sustainable. To put it bluntly, it has become less significant in today’s media landscape. This doesn’t reflect negatively on membership, it’s just a reflection of current industry trends.

Organizing a day at TCAs is typically quite expensive, often running into hundreds of thousands of dollars. This expense includes flying in talent along with their companions (and not economy class!), securing luxury accommodations and transportation services, and covering makeup artists’ fees. If you decide to host a party, the cost will almost certainly double.

The cost of hosting an event like TCAs can quickly reach six figures. This includes flights for talent and their companions (in business class!), booking fancy hotels and transport, as well as paying makeup artists. If you throw a party, the price tag will likely double.

However, there’s a significant, albeit difficult to quantify, expense involved. Frequently, a network may halt a day of summer filming for a fall TV series to send the entire crew to TCA, an event that has been held in Pasadena (previously in Beverly Hills). This pause in production results in substantial financial loss and disrupts the usual eight-day shooting schedule for a typical TV drama.

In the past, it was definitely worth the effort. The Television Critics Association (TCA) was an excellent platform for gathering all of the nation’s dispersed TV critics together in one spot at the same time. You remember newspapers, right? Almost every city had at least one, and each paper had at least one critic. Essentially, the networks brought the mountain to Mohammed by organizing these events. Nowadays, a significant number of entertainment journalists reside in southern California, a source mentioned. Networks can now host their own press days on their own studio lots at a much lower cost.

Investment yields have significantly decreased during the digital era, as one source put it, “there’s more ‘snark’ around now, which can turn even a basic question-and-answer session into a challenge.

According to another insider who spoke to The Hollywood Reporter, “Our executives were often subjected to a Q&A session where they faced harsh questioning. Any small mistake they made became the main focus of the report.

It’d be quite challenging to convince them to continue spending $600,000 on what was previously mentioned as the TCA budget, a figure reportedly available to us a year ago.

Another way to phrase this could be:

Just like many other things, COVID-19 has disrupted numerous good situations. For instance, it halted in-person TCAs for some time, causing networks, similar to your office job, to transition to virtual meetings using Zoom. Although these aren’t completely free, they are considerably less expensive compared to traditional methods. (If you consider that a break from production and hair and makeup preparations have already been done.)

Although the virtual TCA events may not have been ideal for the media, they were considered satisfactory by the channels and streaming platforms that hosted them. One source shared with The Hollywood Reporter for this article described them as “the same interviews at a lower cost.

And that’s the bottom line.

2025-04-02 22:56

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