Miss America May Cut Talent Competition

[Kooperman]

Miss America May Cut Talent Competition

Fri Feb 6,11:09 AM ET

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - A scaled-down Miss America (news - web sites) telecast this year may not include live talent performances or discussion of contestants platforms, according to pageant officials.

ABC, which has televised the pageant since 1997 and is now negotiating a new deal with the Miss America Organization, has said it wants to cut the three-hour show by an hour. That would mean less money for the pageant, whose television ratings have fallen sharply in recent years, with last year's show posting the lowest numbers in pageant history.

While several changes have been suggested, acting pageant CEO Art McMaster said no decisions would be made until later this year.

"They have some ideas about how to make (the broadcast) better," McMaster told The Press of Atlantic City. "You can't ignore the fact that ratings drop down when these things (talent and platform discussions) happen."

The changes would not eliminate the pageant's talent portion — contestants would still have to perform during the three nights of preliminary competition. However, many fans and former contestants are outraged that the changes are even being considered.

"The talent competition is a cornerstone of this program," said Debbye Turner, who won the Miss America crown in 1990. "It's what makes it different from every other pageant out there.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor.../miss_america_1

[Kooperman]

I guess all that's left for us to do is stare at them....

[method77]

was there a talent show? lol

[jipper]

ive kinda rank the miss world/america thing in with the eurovision song contest, its the kinda thing you dont care about and u may watch 10-20 mins of it but.....bah. Its just crap that should have been dropped years ago.

[DudeAsInCool]

I hope they dont cut the swimsuit section

[jipper]

or the naked mud dildo sex orgy wrestling

[method77]

that's the best part

[MikeHunt]

....maybe they can just play football or soccer of something.

Probably would sell more beer...LOL