• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, January 12, 2017

How much more are TV executives looking to direct-to-consumer marketing -- versus other types marketing and earned media/press attention?

That question is being asked since at the TV Critics Association (TCA) meeting in Pasadena, only two of five TV major broadcast English-speaking broadcast networks -- Fox and The CW --  had their most senior TV executives for TV reviewing critics and other media business journalists in press conferences.

And it’s not just traditional TV networks. Netflix and Starz abandoned plans to come to the TCA meeting.

Some of the decision has to do with a glut of TV shows and content. An ever-increasing number of shows and networks — along with more new media journalists -- make it harder to stand out generating big news content.

Even the most traditional networks realize social-media platforms are growing increasingly important. Now, with more TV/video content on places likes Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram, TV consumers are going to connect with like-minded content.

"Generally, the best [Television Critics Association] sessions are the ones where no news is made," said Preston Beckman, a former top programming executive at Fox and NBC, of TCA's sessions with reporters, per Dow Jones. "More and more, it's becoming about talking directly to the consumer. It makes a lot more sense and is becoming a lot easier to do."

Many businesses, other organizations and other high-level people use social media for that connection -- even our president-elect. That your “media” brand should at times go directly to its consumers -- without any in-between/middlemen platforms.

All this goes to the heart of critical reviews of TV shows in newspaper outlets and now, their associated digital media outlets.

How much value do they contribute these days to a network’s overall marketing campaign? And if that is diminishing, should journalists get tougher with TV networks?