The last Miss Universe pageant seems to have opened the door to the most critical stage in the history of the pageant. R’Bonney Gabriel, Miss Universe 2022, it seems that she is not measuring up as everyone expected. The public does not receive it with pleasure and the shadow of the alleged fraud still weighs on his crown.
In previous years, the Miss Universe queens caused a sensation wherever they went, with hundreds of people waiting with flowers and all kinds of gifts. But with R’Bonney it has not been like that and the situation is turning into a resounding historical failure. A fact widely reported by the media around the world.
One of the first stops of the Miss Universe 2022 was Bangkok, Thailand, in company of andreina martinez, Miss Dominican Republic, and Gabriela Dos Santos, Miss Curacao. A reception with very few people and little security deployment. Something extremely remarkable as Thailand is one of the countries with the largest audience and number of fans.
But the worst is that there is no notable number of brands who have approached the organization to collaborate with R’Bonney Gabriel, winner of Miss Universe and representative of the United States. A fact that alarms the organization. This being one of the main activities and tasks of a beauty pageant winner.
Consequently, the failure of Miss Universe 2022 sets a precedent that, we suppose, has to lead the heads of Miss Universe to reflect. Fundamentally so that mistakes are not made again that have not only moral consequences, but important economic ones for the organization. But this is just the tip of the iceberg of a crisis with a band and a crown.
The Miss Universe crisis
Miss Universe was founded in 1952 and was first televised in 1955 on CBS. It emerged as a competitor to the Miss America pageant that was founded in 1921.
Its rule book only allowed single women between the ages of 18 and 28 who had never been married or had children to apply. However, in recent years, both events have tried to evolve beyond their traditional roots. This, as the audience ratings fell.
Last year’s Miss Universe pageant, won by India’s Harnaaz Sandhu, drew 2.7 million viewers in total on Fox. This put the network in last place among the big four broadcasters. The rating marked a 30% drop from the 3.8 million viewers the contest drew in 2019. Just two years earlier, in 2017, the contest drew 5.2 million total viewers.
One of the theories about why Miss Universe stopped having loyal fans is that viewers lost confidence in the contest. Especially after Steve Harvey’s mistake when announced the wrong winner.
After this mistake, the contest could not recover its credibility, apart from the fact that a large sector of the population believes that these contests should no longer be held, since the way of appreciating beauty has evolved over the years.
On the other hand, the drop in viewership also comes as critics question whether beauty pageants are outdated and hinder the cause of gender equality. And although it has included transgender women, and now married women and mothers, this has not been enough to get girls interested in the contest, one of the most popular in Asia and Latin America.
The economy threatens Miss Universe
Endeavor Group, owner of the UFC among other events, bought the rights to Miss Universe in 2015 from Donald Trump, then owner of the contest through one of his companies, WME-IMG. Since then, the controversies around the organization, juries and queens have been topics for gossip. Economically, the contest generated income of between 7 and 9 million dollars, with losses of more than two million dollars.
Consequently, a sale process began that culminated in the purchase of the pageant by JKN Global Group Public Company Limited, the company of the billionaire Thai transsexual Anne Jakrajutatip, moving the pageant headquarters to Thailand and publicly announcing intentions to make changes to make the contest “more diverse and inclusive.”
But also to try to obtain more income with the rights of venue, the organization of the contest and the license fees for the contests of each country. Well, it is no secret to anyone that Miss Universe was bankrupt.
How much does a Miss Universe cost?
Miss Universe sells the rights to host it and the country, together with sponsoring companies, must bear a series of expenses in accommodation, transportation, food, stages, transmission equipment, promotion, shows, depending on the magnitude of infrastructure with which count.
Let us remember that the Dominican Republic gave up competing to host the pageant in 2023 because it had to pay US$10 million to set up Miss Universe 2022, held last January, due to planning delays. The Ministry of Tourism clarified the comments and speculation that circulated on social networks about the country’s refusal to stage the event.
Finally, El Salvador was the country that “won” the rights for this year, for which it invested a little more than US$12 million.
New changes
So, for this edition in El Salvador in December of this year, we will possibly see the changes derived from the new rules in Miss Universe. For many held within the framework of inclusion, but for others misguided.
Historically the requirements were more strict and closed. However, in recent years there have been some changes to make way for what would come from edition 72, at the end of 2023.
To participate in Miss Universe, it was required to be a woman (something that changed in 2012 when it was established that the requirement was to be a legal woman). This opened the door for transgender women who legalized their new gender. With this, the possibility of a transgender woman participating in the contest was left to the option of each country, as happened for the first time with Ángela Ponce, Miss Spain in 2018.
Not being married or having children or having been pregnant have also been some of the requirements for the misses. Also, be between 18 and 28 years old and the nationality of the country you represent. But this could change. Or at least there he noted the speech of the new owner of Miss Universe, Anne Jakrajutatip.
LESS COUNTRIES?
But the biggest change in the business is its new business model. The JKN Global Group company sent a communication in mid-January to the different owners of the international Miss Universe franchises, in charge of choosing the participants in the different countries. Mainly to inform you of the application of the auction modality for the franchise of the contest.
This means that in order to operate and/or represent the Miss Universe brand in their country, they must offer an amount for the right to the contest in its 2023 edition.
The period granted by the Miss Universe Organization gave a term until February 10 to present the offers for the franchises. The results are expected to be announced at the end of the month.
In relation to this business model introduced by JKN Global Group, some companies that own the franchises have already expressed their position and some have given up on continuing to operate the Miss Universe pageant in their countries. Such is the case of MALZ Promotions, owner of the franchise in Ghana, which has already announced his retirement of Miss Universe.
The company released a statement that reads as follows:
“For five years, MALZ Promotions has been an active participant in the Miss Universe competition and with this opportunity, has worked hard to make a difference in the lives of many young Ghanaian women from all corners of our nation.
However, the new and sudden implementation of the business model of the Miss Universe organization under the leadership of JKN Global Group is not aligned with the brand objectives of MALZ Promotions. Therefore, he would like to discontinue the relationship with Miss Universe.”
In countries like Indonesia and Malaysia, for their part, the franchises were already in the hands of new owners. But Ghana’s reaction could be replicated in other countries that disagree with the new business model. Consequently, we could see a Miss Universe with fewer countries in its 2023 edition. We will have to be attentive to the next announcements.
