Miss America gets TV deal to broadcast live on NBC

ATLANTIC CITY — Miss America will once again be crowned live on national television, officials with Miss America and NBC Universal announced Wednesday evening.

The beleaguered competition, which began in 1921 in Atlantic City, said the date and location of the event would be “announced soon.”

There has been speculation that the traditional post-Labor Day timing may be delayed, and that an Atlantic City casino hotel venue, possibly the Ocean Casino Resort, may sub for Boardwalk Hall.

New Jersey and Atlantic City declined this year to continue a multimillion-dollar subsidy that had kept the institution inside Boardwalk Hall the last three years, and its contact with ABC had expired. But officials said recently they had not ruled out some kind of continued support in a less-costly Atlantic City venue.

“The scholarship competition returns to NBC, its former home of two decades, with a two-hour telecast that will follow the 51 compelling candidates as they compete for life-changing scholarships,” a news release from the Miss America Organization trumpeted.

The organization has been beset with controversy and infighting since an email scandal led to the ouster of its leadership and ushered in the reign of former Fox news anchor Gretchen Carlson as chair and Regina Hopper, a former Miss Arkansas, as executive director.

In NBC, the Miss America Organization has found at least a temporary reprieve from the corporate cold shoulders it has been enduring of late.

Doug Vaughan, an NBC Entertainment executive vice president in charge of special programs and late night, said in a statement: “NBC is excited once again [to] team with our friends at the Miss America Organization in what we know will be an entertaining telecast featuring so many inspiring women.”

Hopper called NBC “the perfect partner to tell the real stories of these intelligent, talented, and socially conscious young women."

Details of the agreement were not available Wednesday. The organization said in the release it has awarded nearly $6 million in scholarships over the last two years.

Carlson and Hopper eliminated the swimsuit competition, revamped the evening gown portion to de-emphasize appearance, and proclaimed a new era of “progressiveness and inclusiveness, led by an all-female leadership team.”

Miss America 2018, Cara Mund, then accused Carlson and Hopper of bullying her, and many state pageant directors rebelled or were rebuffed by the organization.

However, the reign of Miss America 2019 Nia Franklin has been without controversy. In fact, Franklin, Miss USA Cheslie Krist, and Miss Teen USA Kaliegh Garris were celebrated recently for the historic distinction of all three titles being simultaneously held by African Americans.

The organization, under the leadership of Carlson and Hopper, has been under fire from state pageant directors who attempted unsuccessfully to reclaim power in a court battle.

Miss America has long been struggling to find relevance and audience, and left Atlantic City in 2006 for seven years, staging the pageant in a Las Vegas casino.

An email scandal led to the change in the leadership, as Carlson, a former Miss America and Fox News host, vowed to bring the institution into the #MeToo era, even as Mund accused Carlson of bullying her during her reign.

A request for proposals sent out late last year by the Miss America Organization seeking a new venue asked a host city to cover production costs for the competition that it estimated as running between $2.5 million and $4.9 million, plus a fee of $325,000 for other expenses. It also suggested that Carlson, chair of the board, be given use of a presidential suite.

“I congratulate them on securing NBC as a network,” said Matt Doherty, executive director of the New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, the agency that was the organization’s long-time subsidizer. “We hope they’re able to stay in Atlantic City.”