Miss USA held its first competition in 1952 and has been considered a “staple in the pageant industry” since.

The CW drops Miss USA pageants one week before air: ‘Unable to reach mutual agreeable terms’

Miss USA held its first competition in 1952 and has been considered a “staple in the pageant industry” since.

By Marina Watts

Marina Watts

Marina Watts is a news writer for with seven years experience covering entertainment, pop culture and celebrity news. Her previous work appears in PEOPLE, Bustle and Newsweek.

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August 21, 2026 6:24 p.m. ET

The 73rd Annual Miss Teen USA Pageant at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles in August 2024. Credit:

Kevin Winter/Getty

- The Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants won’t be taking place on The CW this year as planned due to a “contractual issue.”

- “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.”

- The Miss USA competition began in 1952 and is considered a “staple in the pageant industry.”

The Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants won’t be going on as planned due to a “contractual issue.”

The Miss USA Organization shared a statement on their Instagram Stories on Thursday about the change of plans, noting that The CW was meant to air Miss Teen USA on Aug. 26 and Miss USA on Aug. 27, but a “contractual issue with our production arrangements” was identified two weeks ago and was not resolved in time for the streamings.

“Since then, our team has worked diligently to explore options that would allow us to continue with a live broadcast on The CW. Unfortunately, we were unable to reach mutually agreeable terms for this year’s event,” the Miss USA statement reads.

“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.”

Miss USA via Instagram.

Miss USA/Instagram

A statement from The CW shared with * *confirmed that the broadcasts wouldn’t air on the network.

“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. We wish the organization and all of this year’s contestants well in the competition,” the statement read.

* *contacted the Miss USA Organization and did not receive an immediate response.

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The CW previously aired the Miss USA pageants in 2023 and announced a multiyear deal with the Miss USA Organization in 2024 after the previous year’s Miss Teen USA pageant “ranked as the network’s #1 new special of the year and delivered the pageant’s strongest performance of the last three years on television.”

However, in 2025, the pageants aired on the Queen Beauty Network, which focuses on fashion, beauty, and pageant industries. This marked an historic first, as the competition had aired on live television every year since 1965.

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The CW had planned to stream the competition again this year, but the Queen Beauty Network will be the home of this year’s competitions as well, streaming from the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami.

The Miss USA and Miss Teen USA week will include a costume presentation and preliminary competitions. The events will conclude with final competitions with coronation ceremonies, featuring reigning Miss Teen USA Mailyn Marsh and reigning Miss USA Audrey Eckert.

Addie Carver, Miss Mississippi Teen USA wins the 73rd Annual Miss Teen USA Pageant at Peacock Theater in Los Angeles in August 2024.

Kevin Winter/Getty

Miss USA held its first competition in 1952 and has been considered a “staple in the pageant industry” since. Meanwhile, Miss Teen USA’s inaugural competition took place in 1983.

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Source: “EW Beauty”