The Television Critics Association has canceled next year's winter press tour.
The move is the latest blow to the journalistic establishment. TCA is traditionally a biannual, multi-week conference in Los Angeles where television critics and journalists participate in hundreds of studio-sponsored panels featuring upcoming programming, as well as Q&As from executives. There are also the annual TCA Awards, where critics honor the best programming of the year.
“We write with the disappointing news that the TCA winter tour has been cancelled,” TCA President Jacqueline Cutler wrote in a letter to members. “As you know, Hollywood is in deep contraction. While several streamers, networks and studios committed, it wasn't enough for a full press tour. We wanted to be respectful of our members' planning needs, so as a board we set a deadline of early November to make this decision.
“I want to point out something that members who attended last February and July already know: they were fantastic tours,” he added. “The executives I have spoken to have been exceptionally positive about the last two press tours. More importantly, everyone has emphasized that they want to participate in the summer 2025 tour and we are already working towards this.”
The pandemic and Hollywood walkouts of 2023 have posed significant hurdles for TCA tours, which in recent years have also struggled to bolster studio participation in an industry-wide shift from a cable-broadcast model to one that emphasizes programming streaming all year round.