TLC No Longer Home to Miss America Pageant

TLC declines to renew Miss America TV contract

By OSKAR GARCIA

Associated Press Writer

March 1, 2010

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Miss America's three year run on TLC is over after the cable network chose not to renew its television contract with the beauty pageant.

TLC declined on Monday to say why it was cutting ties with the 89-year-old competition after the pageant's broadcast attracted 4.5 million viewers in January — the best showing ever for the pageant on cable.

Sam Haskell, chairman of the Miss America Organization, told The Associated Press that TLC executives indicated one week after the Jan. 30 pageant that they did not want to pick up a three-year option that was part of their previous deal.

Instead, Haskell said TLC wanted a new two-year deal for less money, which he was unwilling to do.

"They're not dumping Miss America," Haskell said. "They wanted Miss America — they just didn't want to pay the same numbers for it that they'd been paying."

Haskell said four networks, ranging from broadcast to cable channels, have expressed strong interest in airing the pageant and are willing to pay what the TLC option would have paid or higher.

"I'm a big boy, I've got broad shoulders — I'll find us another network," Haskell said. "I look at this as an opportunity. It doesn't depress me in the least. We have a great franchise, we have a great audience, we have a great organization."

The television audience for this year's pageant was 1 million viewers more than those for the 2009 pageant, but far below the 33 million who watched the pageant on broadcast TV in 1988.

The 2010 pageant — won by Miss Virginia Caressa Cameron — was No. 1 on cable the night it aired, excluding movies. It was held at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip.

The pageant previously aired on Country Music Television and was last seen on network TV on ABC, which dropped the pageant after record-low ratings for the 2004 pageant.

The pageant, which celebrates its 90th year next year, was founded in Atlantic City, N.J., in 1921 as a bathing beauty revue.

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AP Television Writer Frazier Moore contributed to this report from New York.

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On the Net:

Miss America, http://www.missamerica.org/

TLC Network, http://www.tlc.com/

Article reposted from:http://newyork.metromix.com/movies/article/tlc-declines-to-renew/1793268/content

Pre-Pageant Weekend!

Last weekend, 12 of the 13 contestants for Miss South Dakota 2010 converged on the state capital of Pierre, SD, along with me, several of our state board members and volunteers.

The unveiling of "A New Life" as this year's theme met with much admiration, and with songs like "Cowboy Casanova," "Bad Romance," and "I Gotta Feelin," it is sure to be a hit with audiences in Hot Springs!

GIGL by Stopping the Legislature from Eliminating Our Opportunity Scholarships!

If you are a recipient of a South Dakota Opportunity Scholarship, or if you know someone who is, take a stand today by emailing your representatives in the SD State Legislature to tell them that you do not support the proposed funding cut for the program that keeps so many high achieving South Dakotans in the state for college.

As one of the many recipients of the SD Opportunity Scholarship, I was looking forward to the increase from $1000 to $2000 in my senior year. I understand that difficult decisions must be made by legislators this year as they attempt to reconcile the budget, but cutting or eliminating a scholarship that students depend upon will have dire consequences.

Please speak up now by emailing or phoning your representatives. You can find their information by using the link below. Thanks for GIGLing!

http://legis.state.sd.us/sessions/2010/MembersByDistrict.aspx

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Getting Involved in Government Locally Tip #5

I'm sure many of you, while making merry in various South Dakota establishments this holiday season, will wonder what became of the smoking ban that was originally intended to go into effect last July.

A week ago last Friday, Circuit Court Judge Kathleen Trandahl ruled that petitions filed to refer the smoking ban to a public vote met the required number of signatures. Both the State of South Dakota and the American Cancer Society have decided not to appeal the decision to the South Dakota Supreme Court, likely due to the expense of such an appeal.

And so it seems that the smokey or smokeless state of restaurants and bars will be put into our hands next November. Make sure to register to vote in plenty of time (more than 15 days before a SD election) in order to vote your opinion and GIGL.

(Regardless of the ban's status, some restaurants and bars choose to be smoke-free. If you're interested, the following is a link to a list of smoke-free restaurants in eastern South Dakota.)

Getting Involved in Government Locally Tip #4

Ever wonder if there is a warrant out for your arrest in Minnehaha county? Of course not.

But have you ever wondered about your neighbor with the annoying dog? Or the babysitter you hired, but don't know very well? Or what about the people who live in the apartment above yours and frequently have raucous dance parties?

Well, now you can find out online by checking out GotWarrants.org. Most of the warrants are for traffic offenses or driving without insurance. Not too serious. However, some are for robbery, rape, and other scary things. Helping the Sheriff's Office by tipping them off if you know the whereabouts of one of these individuals is a great way to GIGL.

Getting Involved in Government Locally Tip #3

Several billions of dollars have gone out to the states this year in an effort to stimulate economic activity. Do you know how it is being spent? The information is just a mouse click away.

South Dakota operates a website to track state government's stimulus spending. At Recovery.SD.Gov, you can investigate the type of projects federal dollars are funding in South Dakota. It is fun to look out for the projects in your communities once you have read about them on the website. I'm sure many of you noticed the seemingly endless cone-zones across the state this year, and we can thank more than $77 million of the $183 million allocated for transportation projects for providing us with endless hours of amusement on the road.

Plenty of other states have similar websites to track their spending as well.

Check it out. It's a great way to GIGL!