Miss Teen USA is a beauty pageant run by the Miss Universe Organization mainly for girls aged 14–19. Unlike its sister pageants Miss Universe and Miss USA, which are being broadcast on Fox, this pageant is webcast on the Miss Teen USA website and simulcast on Microsoft's Xbox Live service.
The pageant was first held in 1983 and has been broadcast live on CBS until 2002 and then on NBC from 2003–2007. But in March 2007, it was announced that the broadcast of the Miss Teen USA pageant on NBC had not been recommenced, and that Miss Teen USA 2007 would be the final televised event.
From 2008–15, the pageant was held at the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort, located in Nassau, Bahamas. Karlie Hay of Texas was crowned on July 30, 2016 in The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada.
Prior to the final telecast the delegates compete in the preliminary competition, which includes private interviews with the judges and a presentation show where they compete in swimsuit and evening gown.
During the final competition, the semi-finalists are announced and go on to compete in swimsuit and evening gown. From 1983 to 2002 all semi-finalists also competed in an interview competition as well as both swimsuit and evening gown, followed by one or two final interview questions. In 2003, a new format was introduced where the top fifteen competed in evening gown, the top ten competed in swimsuit and the top five competed in the final question. In 2006, the order of competition was again changed where the top fifteen competed in swimsuit and the top ten in evening gown. The latest competition format was used since 2008 the final not broadcast on TV, where the top fifteen both competed in swimsuit and evening gown, and the top five competed in the final question who all are signed up by a panel of judges.
