NEW YORK — Days after the Miss USA pageant was dropped by Univision and NBC, the July 12 event has found a new home on television, the Reelz channel.
Reelz, a relatively obscure cable channel, saw an opportunity to fill in the space left by NBC.
Miss USA is half owned by Donald Trump. Univision and NBC backed out of airing the pageant after Trump’s incendiary comments about Mexican immigrants caused an outcry in June.
“The decision on the part of Reelz to acquire the rights to the Miss USA pageant was based on our belief that this special event, and the women who compete in it, are an integral part of American tradition,” Stan E. Hubbard, CEO of Reelz, said in a statement.
“As one of only a few independent networks, we decided to exercise our own voice and committed ourselves to bringing this pageant to American viewers everywhere,” he added.
