Miss America’s goin’ country. The famous beauty pageant, has signed a broadcast deal with cable country music network CMT, officials said Monday.
The pageant, traditionally held in September or October, will be held back until January. And it may move from Atlantic City, where Miss America was born as a Labor Day publicity stunt in 1921.
Pageant officials, who spent months trying to find a new network getting dropped by ABC, said no determination had been made whether it would remain in Atlantic City.
Country Music Television, based in Nashville, is owned by Viacom, owner of music channels MTV and VH1.
VH1 will air “supportive programming” leading up to the pageant in hopes of gathering interest with viewers.
Pageant CEO Art McMaster said the move would help give the troubled show a boost in promotion.
The pageant’s Nielsen ratings have been dropping for years, with viewers increasinlgy ignoring baton twirlers, evening gowns and canned speeches about social causes. Last year’s telecast drew an all-time low of 9.8 million viewers, prompting ABC to give up on it.
The move to cable represents a comedown of sorts, but some see it as a good fit.
“It’s a great alternative to a national outlet,” said former CEO Leonard Horn. “It’s a good cable network. If it’s properly promoted and they certainly have the ability, with MTV and VH1 the millions of loyal Miss America fans will watch it.”
Miss America and beauty pageants in general have traditionally been more popular in Southern states, and the move to CMT may boost viewership in that demographic.
“Miss America is sort of a heartland kind of event,” said media analyst Larry Gerbrandt. “It’s Mom, Dad, the flag and apple pie. That’s their demographic.”
Credit: Yahoo/AP
