  the miss usa beauty pageant has been held annually since 1952 to select the united states entrant in the miss universe pageant. the miss universe organization operates both pageants, as well as miss teen usa. the pageant is broadcast on nbc and (starting 2013) on xbox live. the current miss usa is nia sanchez of nevada. ==history== the miss usa pageant was conceived in 1950 when yolande betbeze, winner of the rival miss america pageant, refused to pose for publicity pictures while wearing a swimsuit. pageant sponsor catalina decided to pull their sponsorship off the pageant and create their own competition. other owners have included a subsidiary of gulf+western industries, itt corporation, and billionaire donald trump, the current owner who bought the pageant in 1996. the first miss usa and miss universe pageants were held concurrently in long beach, california in 1952; the first miss usa winner was miss new york usa jackie loughery. there were thirty delegates in the first year of competition, and many states did not compete every year during the first two decades of the pageant's history. from the 1970s, each state and the district of columbia have sent a delegate each year. alaska first competed in 1959 and hawaii in 1960. both had competed at miss universe until this time. the pageant aired on cbs from 1963 until 2002, and for many years was known for having a cbs game show host as pageant host. john charles daly hosted the show from 1963â1966, bob barker from 1967 until 1987 (at which point he quit in a dispute over fur coats), [[alan thic
1952_establishments_in_the_United_States Beauty_pageants_in_the_United_States CBS_network_shows Miss_USA Miss_Universe_Organization NBC_network_shows Recurring_events_established_in_1952