NEWS & NOTES : AFTER DECADES-LONG NBC RUN, `MISS AMERICA' STRUTS TO ABC.

Byline: Daily News Wire Services

Here she comes, Miss America, over to ABC.

The alphabet network is near a multiyear deal to air the long-running beauty pageant that has been an NBC staple for decades, sources said over the weekend.

Sources said that NBC execs have decided to wave goodbye to the expensive girl-judging contest, which has steadily lost viewers and this year posted its worst ratings ever when it aired on Sept. 14.

NBC had tried to update the franchise by adding an interactive element and new hosts, including Regis Philbin this year. But peacock execs told pageant producers several weeks ago the network would not exercise an option to pick it up again, ending an NBC tradition dating to TV's golden days.

Though its numbers are waning, the ``Miss America Pageant'' is still a reasonably strong performer and has some value as a means of promoting a network's new schedule.

Sources said ABC was still negotiating how many years Miss America would walk down that network's aisle; some insiders speculated ABC parent Disney would move the pageant to one of its theme parks, though the well-known Miss America song makes a reference to Atlantic City, which has always been its home.

Shaffer re-ups: David Letterman will have sidekick/bandleader/comedy partner and foil Paul Shaffer on his ``Late Show'' stage for at least a few more years.

Shaffer last week signed a contract that will keep him staying up ``Late'' through August 1999.

The supremely talented musician, who has worked with all the major stars in pop, has been with Letterman since the start of ``Late Night'' in 1982.

Shaffer moved to New York from Canada in the summer of 1975 to become a band member on ``Saturday Night Live,'' and ended up on stage there frequently as a comedy performer as well.