The Miss USA pageant is waltzing its way back to broadcast television this year. The competition’s 72nd edition will air exclusively on the CW later this month, premiering Friday, Sept. 29 starting at 8 p.m. ET/PT. It’s the first time the show’s been on a broadcast network since it aired its 2016 edition on Fox. Before that, the show aired on NBC from 1996 to 2015.
Both Miss USA and the Miss Universe competitions were owned by Donald Trump until 2015, when he sold the pageants to WME during his presidential campaign.
The network will also showcase the Miss Teen USA pageant, making it available to stream on the CW app and CWTV.com on the same day as the telecast.
“We are eagerly anticipating the opportunity to present viewers with a modern and progressive approach to a 70-year-old tradition, and we’re looking forward to the moment when this year’s deserving champions are crowned,” said Laylah Rose, president and CEO of the Miss USA and Teen USA Organization.
“The Miss USA Pageant and Miss Teen USA Pageants are time-honored traditions. We are thrilled to be collaborating with Laylah Rose and Renato Basile for what is sure to be a night of exciting entertainment,” Heather Olander, the CW’s head of unscripted programming, said in a statement.
The hosts and judges for the 2023 competition will be announced at a later date.
Both events are set to take place at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada. The pageants bring together titleholders from each state to compete for the title of Miss USA 2023 and Miss Teen USA 2023. Miss USA 2022 Morgan Romano of North Carolina and Miss Teen USA 2022 Faron Medhi of Nebraska will be in attendance to pass the crown down to their successors.
Romano was the runner-up in last year’s competition, but took the crown from R’Bonney Gabriel when Gabriel won the Miss Universe competition. The new Miss USA titleholder will go on to represent the U.S. at the Miss Universe 2023 competition at the end of this year. That pageant is set to air Nov. 18 on The Roku Channel and Telemundo.
The pageant is executive produced by Rose, Basile of RB Entertainment Inc. and Miss USA and Teen USA chief operating officer Megan Micale.