TCA Summer Tour 2014: Crash course in cable

The Television Critics Association’s Press Tour got underway last week at the Beverly Hills Hilton in Beverly Hills, Ca. For the next two weeks, TV and media critics will be listening to executives talk a lot of BS, see actors whining, and asking tough questions while tweeting away. But there is also the potential for some fun moments (remember a Downton […]

T Dog’s Grab Bag: Alternative rock returns to 101.1

It’s official: the alternative rock format, which vanished from the 101.1 frequency in 2011 after Merlin Media took over, returned Friday morning at 9 a.m. prompt, simulcasting sister station WKQX/87.7 FM for a period of 30-45 days.  The move came a week after Cumulus announced it was taking over operations of three Merlin Media stations in Chicago. According to Radio […]

TCA: Cable shows off the goods

January is yours truly favorite time of year. Why? (No, its NOT the weather.) This month is home to TCA Winter Press Tour and the National Association of Television Program Executives gatherings take place, with the latter being held later this month. Let the fun begin! This edition – the Winter portion of the tour – is taking place over […]

NATPE wrap-up

The 49th annual National Association of Television Programming Executives closed its three-day run on Wednesday from the Fontainbleau Hotel in Miami. The gathering attracted many attendees from the around the globe, especially from South American countries, who were seeking Spanish-language programming. In addition, NATPE had a growing digital contingent, thanks to the growing influence (and clout) of Amazon, Hulu, and […]

TCA: Cable Time

The Winter TCA Press Tour concluded last weekend with many panels dedicated to cable. Here is a brief roundup of what went on, grouped in alphabetical order: AMC To the delight of critics (and fans), AMC announced it was extending the third season order of hit series The Walking Dead from thirteen to sixteen as the second season with thirteen […]

TCA, Part 4: Cable wraps up

The cable portion of the TCA Winter Press Tour wrapped up over the weekend, with the rest of the cable networks making their presentations. Remember, even though the cable portion of the tour wrapped up Saturday, cable networks owned by the major broadcast networks are still scheduled to make presentations this week. Rainbow (We, AMC, IFC) -AMC – the home […]

TCA: Wasting away on the "Jersey Shore"

The Television Critics Association Press Tour came to an end on Saturday with the last three days devoted to cable networks. In the past, cable usually kicked off the press tour, but this year shoved toward the end of the twelve-day tour. Neverthless, critics stayed through the end, with the HBO presentation playing to full capacity on Saturday. The biggest […]