Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant has found a new home
You're going to be hearing a lot about Reelz today, probably for the first time in four years.
That's because the independent cable channel has landed rights to
televise the 2015 Miss USA Pageant July 12 at 8 p.m, after NBC dropped
plans to air it earlier this week. NBC severed business ties with Donald Trump
on Monday, including the beauty pageant it produced with him, in
response to his derogatory comments about Mexicans during his June 16
Presidential campaign announcement.
Stan E. Hubbard, Reelz CEO, said in a statement that his network
acquired Miss USA rights because it believed "that this special event,
and the women who compete in it, are an integral part of American
tradition. ...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."
When NBC dropped Miss USA (it will air a special American Ninja Warrior instead on July 12), Trump threatened to sue the network. On Tuesday, he filed a $500 million lawsuit against
Univision, which also cut ties with the pageant last week; Univision
called the suit "both factually false and legally ridiculous." At a New
Hampshire event on Tuesday, Trump said, "what NBC and Univision did to these young women was disgraceful," and vowed that he will attend the July 12 pageant.
Expect Trump to have only praise today for Reelz, which is available in
70 million homes, though the network was returned to its seldom-seen
status since airing The Kennedys four years ago. The channel's slogan is
the somewhat dubious "Hollywood Happens Here" and its programming
includes reality shows like Beverly Hills Pawn and Hollywood
Hillbillies.
It's unclear what Miss USA viewers will actually see on July 12: co-hosts Cheryl Burke and Thomas
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