Once upon a time, beauty pageants such as Miss America were seen as a big deal, aired live on network television during primetime.
Now viewed as a leftover from a bygone era, pageants are no longer considered mainstream entertainment the way they once were. However, the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants were set to make a comeback after a June announcement that The CW had entered a deal to broadcast the two pageants when they took place in late August.
As a result, both were scheduled to air on The CW, with Miss Teen USA to be broadcast on August 27, and Miss USA on August 28.
For the latter, this year’s pageant was intended to be a very special one, a “Diamond Celebration” marking the pageant’s 75th anniversary.
The Plug Was Pulled At the Last Minute
GettyHowever, the network just confirmed that those plans have been kiboshed.
“After careful consideration and conversations with the Miss USA Organization, The CW Network has decided to forego next week’s broadcasts of the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants,” a CW spokesperson told Business Insider in a statement.
“We wish the organization and all of this year’s contestants well in the competition,” the statement concluded.
A Shift to Streaming
A spokesperson for Miss USA told Business Insider that both pageants will now be seen via streaming on the Queen Beauty Network, described by the outlet as “a streaming platform focused on the pageant, fashion, and beauty industries.”
Both Miss USA and Miss Teen USA were live-streamed on that same platform last year.
‘A Contractual Issue’
In a statement issued via social media, organizers of the pageant claimed the abrupt decision to pull the pageants off The CW’s schedule was due to a vaguely worded “contractual issue” that prevented the broadcasts from taking place.
“Two weeks ago, we identified a contractual issue with our production arrangements that could not be resolved within the necessary timeframe,” reads a statement issued via Instagram Story.
“Since then, our team has worked diligently to explore options that would allow us to continue with a live broadcast on The CW,” that statement continued. “Unfortunately, we were unable to reach mutually agreeable terms for this year’s event.”
Per People, that statement added: “While The CW will not be carrying a live broadcast of Miss USA this year, we are grateful for our relationship with the network and remain open to opportunities to work together in the future.”
End of an Era?
GettyAs People reports, the 2025 Miss USA pageant marked the first time since 1965 that the venerable beauty pageant had not been aired on broadcast television.
Now, this year’s event will follow suit, with the pageant and its teen version both streaming on the Queen Beauty Network instead.
Back in June, Deadline reported that The CW had entered into “a multi-year deal” with BDE Miss USA, which now owns the competitions, to air the two events this August.
“The CW had previously struck a three-year deal in April 2024 to air the beauty pageants,” reported Deadline. “However, in May 2024, Miss USA 2023 Noelia Voigt and Miss Teen USA 2023 UmaSofia Srivastava resigned from their positions, accusing the organizers of abuse and bullying.”
