Miss Universe owned by JKN Global Group
History
The title "Miss Universe" was first used by the International Pageant of Pulchritude in 1926. This contest was held annually until 1935, when the Great Depression and other events preceding World War II led to its demise.
The current Miss Universe pageant was founded in 1952 by Pacific Knitting Mills, a California-based clothing company and manufacturer of Catalina Swimwear, and has since been headquartered in the United States. The company was the sponsor of the Miss America pageant until 1951, when the winner, Yolande Betbeze, refused to pose for publicity pictures wearing one of their swimsuits. In 1952, Pacific Knitting Mills organized the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants, co-sponsoring them for decades to follow.
The first Miss Universe Pageant was held in Long Beach, California in 1952. It was won by Armi Kuusela from Finland, who gave up her title, though not officially, to get married shortly before her year was completed. Until 1958, the Miss Universe title, like that of Miss America, was dated by the year following the contest, so at the time Ms. Kuusela's title was Miss Universe 1953. Since its founding by Pacific Mills, the pageant has been organized and conducted by the Miss Universe Organization. Eventually, Pacific Mills and its subsidiaries were acquired by the Kayser-Roth Corporation, which was in turn acquired by Gulf and Western Industries.
The pageant was first televised in 1955. CBS began broadcasting the combined Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants in 1960, and as separate contests in 1965. More than 30 years later, Donald Trump bought the pageant in 1996 from ITT Corp, with a broadcasting arrangement with CBS until 2002. During this time, in 1998, Miss Universe, Inc. changed its name to the Miss Universe Organization, and moved its headquarters from Los Angeles to New York City. By late 2002, Trump entered into a joint venture with NBC, which in 2003 outbid the other markets for the TV rights. From 2003 to 2014, the pageant was broadcast in the United States on NBC.
In June 2015, NBC cancelled all business relationships with Trump and the Miss Universe Organization in response to controversial statements about illegal immigrants who crossed the border from Mexico. As part of the legal settlement, in September 2015, Trump bought out NBC's 50% stake in the company, making him the company's sole owner. Three days later, he sold the whole company to WME/IMG. Following the change of ownership, in October 2015, Fox and Azteca became the official broadcasters of the Miss Universe and Miss USA pageants. As of 2023, the president of the Miss Universe Organization was Paula Shugart, who held this position since 1997.During the CBS telecast era, John Charles Daly hosted the Miss Universe Pageant from 1955 to 1966, Bob Barker from 1967 to 1987, Alan Thicke in 1988, John Forsythe in 1989, Dick Clark from 1990 to 1993, Bob Goen from 1994 to 1996, and Jack Wagner in 1998 and 1999. During the NBC telecast era, multiple hosts shared the duties—Billy Bush hosted the Miss Universe Pageant from 2003 to 2005 and 2009, Mario Lopez in 2007, Andy Cohen in 2011 and 2012, and Thomas Roberts in 2013 and 2014. Prior to 2022, Daisy Fuentes, Nancy O'Dell, Mel B and Natalie Morales were the only other females to have hosted the event multiple times (from 2002 to 2004, 2005 and 2006, 2008 and 2013, and from 2010 to 2011 and 2014, respectively).
Between 2015 and 2019, Miss Universe is televised live by Fox and hosted annually by Steve Harvey. The backstage correspondents include Roselyn Sanchez in 2015, Ashley Graham from 2016 to 2018, and Olivia Culpo in 2019. In 2020, the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA brands were split from the Miss Universe Organization into their independent organization, run by Crystle Stewart, until her suspension in 2022, thus returning the said pageants to the Miss Universe Organization, while the broadcast rights to the Miss Universe Pageant was temporarily split between Telemundo and FYI. Lopez and Culpo then teamed up for co-hosting duties for the 2020 pageant after Harvey temporarily withdrew from the competition amidst COVID-19 pandemic restrictions at the time. The contract with Fox and Harvey was resumed for the 2021 edition, with Cheslie Kryst as the main correspondent.
On October 26, 2022, Thailand-based JKN Global Group acquired Miss Universe Organization (MUO) from Endeavor Group Holdings-owned IMG Worldwide at $14 million, making Anne Jakapong Jakrajutatip the first transgender woman to own the organization and marking the first time the organization expands its headquarters outside the U.S. From the 2022 edition onwards, NBC has re-acquired broadcast rights via The Roku Channel for the competition as a result of the ownership changes, marking the first time in Miss Universe history that the pageant has transitioned from traditional broadcast network coverage to full streaming service in the United States. 2022 marked the first time in the pageant's history that an all-female panel hosted the event, in Jeannie Mai and Olivia Culpo.Gallery of Miss Universe crowns
Recent titleholders
Gallery of winners
Miss Universe Organization
The Miss Universe Organization currently owns and runs the Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss Teen USA beauty pageants. Between 2020 and 2022, it stopped organizing the Miss USA and the Miss Teen USA competitions, when these franchises were operated by Crystle Stewart, until her suspension in October 2022, and as a result, the latter pageants returned to the Miss Universe Organization.Based in New York City and Bangkok, it is currently owned by the Thai JKN Global Group since 26 October 2022, when the former owners WME/IMG sold the pageant. The current president is Paula Shugart. The organization sells television rights to the pageants and pageant organizations in other countries.