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,” according to philly.com.
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.
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.”
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