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A modest success for Miss America's reality experiment

03:57 PM PT, Jan 30 2008

TLC did better than expected with Saturday's live airing of the Miss America pageant, although the telecast's reach was still a long way from its glory days on network TV.

An average of 3.6 million total viewers tuned in to "Miss America Live," a 50% jump over last year's ceremony on rival cable outlet CMT, according to figures from Nielsen Media Research. The program was the night's No. 1 cable show among women ages 18 to 49.

The live ceremony in Las Vegas was preceded for the first time by a four-episode unscripted series, "Miss America: Reality Check," which followed the 52 contestants as they prepared for the pageant. Friday's finale logged 1.1 million total viewers.

Nevertheless, the pageant itself is a faint echo of its former status as a broadcast TV perennial. Earlier this decade, the show was still averaging 10 million or so viewers a year.

-- Scott Collins

January 30, 2008 in TV News Tracker | Permalink

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Michael Urie hosted the reality series, which probably drew Ugly Betty fans.

Posted by: Carol | January 31, 2008 at 03:09 AM

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