Miss America lands at CMT

Miss America’s goin’ country.

The famous beauty pageant, its future in doubt since ABC dropped it last fall, has signed a multiyear broadcast deal with cable country music network CMT.

The pageant, traditionally held in September or October, won’t crown its next winner until January. And it may not happen in Atlantic City, N.J., where Miss America was born as a Labor Day publicity stunt in 1921. Pageant officials, who spent months trying to find a new network after losing the ABC deal last October, said no determination had been made on where it will be held.

The pageant’s Nielsen ratings have been dropping for years. Last year’s telecast drew a record-low 9.8 million viewers.