Miss America broadcast ratings drop again, creates trending moments

LAUREN CARROLL Staff Writer 8 hrs ago (1)

Contestants line up before the first elinination in the Miss America 2018 competition. Cara Mund, Miss North Dakota, will be win at Boardwalk Hall, in Atlantic City, Sunday, Sept. 10, 2018.

Sunday night’s telecast of the 2018 Miss America Competition on ABC drew 5.6 million viewers and a 1.2 Nielsen rating, according to a release from the Miss America Organization.

The two-hour show saw a drop in viewers compared with last year, when it drew 6.25 million viewers for a 1.3 rating, according to data from the Nielsen Co.

The competition was up against NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants and the hourlong premiere of Fox’s sci-fi series “The Orville.”

“Sunday Night Football” had a 8.0 rating with 21.6 milllion viewers, while “The Orville,” which aired in the 8 to 9 p.m. time slot, averaged a 2.3 rating and 7.3 million viewers.

The Miss America Organization said the broadcast was the No. 1 nonsports program during the 9 to 11 p.m. time slot.

The pageant opened with hosts Chris Harrison and Sage Steele saying the broadcast would be interrupted if there was breaking news from Florida or Texas, which were both effected by strong hurricanes.

“Despite the extraordinary weather circumstances and competition, ‘The Miss America Competition’ retained nearly all of its year-ago results with Total Viewers (89%) and Adults 18-49 (92%), while holding 100% in Adults 18-34 and growing 8% in Women 18-34,” according to a release from the Miss America Organization.

According to Press archives, the competition has seen a decline in viewership since 2013, despite gaining viewers in 2015.

2016: 6.25 million viewers

2015: 7.9 million viewers

2014: 7.1 million viewers

2013: 8.6 million viewers

However, moments of Sunday night’s broadcast did trend on social media, including Miss Texas Margana Wood’s on-stage question and response about the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

The official Miss America twitter account was sharing moments from the competitions, almost simultaneous with the broadcast. A video clip of the final minute before the announcement of Miss America 2018 was “liked” more than 1,500 times. (tncms-asset)4ea8be72-98ba-11e7-b55f-00163ec2aa77(/tncms-asset)

The Miss America competition is produced by dickclark productions and is broadcast on ABC networks.

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