For decades, HBO has been an anchor of the cable portion of Television Critics Association’s press tour with the network’s signature three-hour block of wall-to-wall panels packed with big stars. Pasadena will see no HBO presence this summer for the first-ever time in history. Actually, Warner Bros. has merged into one company. Discovery has canceled the upcoming press tour because the company is going though the integration process. Layoffs are part of the plan. The next wave is expected to be announced during TCA.
Ironically, it was on the day of HBO’s TCA session during the winter 2018 press tour that the network was hit with buyouts as part of the cuts instituted following AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner and the launch of WarnerMedia.
HBO has also announced major news about signature shows such as The SopranosAnd Game of ThronesTCA has seen Discovery regularly perform over the years. WBD CEO David Zaslav made occasional appearances on stage.
WBD will not be attending TCA this month. However, WBD will take a strong contingent to Comic-Con, led by the Game Of ThronesPrequel House of the Dragon.
The 2022 TCA summer media tour will begin July 27, and it will be the first edition in person of the bi-annual, long-running event since winter 2020.