2013 Miss America Pageant to Air on ABC, Jan 12

ABC Television Network and Sam Haskell, Chairman of the Board of the Miss America Organization, have announced that "The 2013 Miss America Competition" returns to Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas for a week of preliminary competitions, culminating in a live telecast on SATURDAY, JANUARY 12, 2013 (9:00-11:00 p.m., ET) on ABC.

"The 2012 Miss America telecast on ABC was a tremendous success, taking the ratings crown as the most-watched non-sports program on Saturday night," said Haskell. "With the success of our re-branding Miss America, we have attracted a new audience. We look forward to working with ABC and Planet Hollywood to make the 2013 broadcast event even more memorable for our viewers."

The three nights of preliminaries will take place on January 8, 9 & 10 at Planet Hollywood's PH Live Tickets for the preliminaries, as well as the Miss America live event, will be available soon. For information on ticket sales visit www.missamerica.org. Laura Kaeppeler, of Kenosha, Wisconsin is Miss America 2012.

The Miss America Organization is the world's largest provider of scholarship assistance for young women and one of the nation's leading achievement programs. Last year, the Miss America Organization and its state and local affiliates made available more than $45 million in scholarship assistance. The 2013 Miss America Competition will mark its third consecutive year on ABC. The show will air on Saturday, January 12, 2013 at 9:00 p.m. ET. For more information, visit www.missamerica.org.