"Current way of doing things no longer up to date"

The Mister Switzerland contest has been at a standstill since it was last broadcast in 2012. Only 45,700 people watched the show on 3+ back then.

Miss Switzerland is also fighting for survival. Owner Guido Fluri invests six-figure sums every year to continue the transformation from beauty event to charity event. His vision: Miss as an ambassador for a better world.

Now, for the first time, 3+ founder and reality TV king Dominik Kaiser is joining the discussion. "The Mister and Miss Switzerland elections are no longer appropriate in their current form," he tells Schweiz am Sonntag. The two brands would have to be consistently thought of and conceived as a TV format in order to have a chance of success again.

Kaiser says he himself has made the Miss Switzerland organization several offers in this regard - among other things, they would have taken over the costs for the TV broadcasts completely themselves. So far without success.

One reason: Kaiser's concept clashes with Fluri's charity vision. Kaiser is convinced that "focusing a Miss Switzerland on an aloof do-gooder" wouldn't work on TV. He wants "real people to touch," drama, emotions - not protagonists.

Another reason: According to Gudio Fluri, the Miss organization would have had to cede the sponsorship income to 3+. And thus a large part of the income that is necessary to finance the Miss salary, the administration and the election event.

According to rumors quoted by Schweiz am Sonntag, Fluri's "fondest wish" was to bring the election back to SRF. But initial talks with those responsible had already failed.

Whether a 3+ deal will be struck with publisher Jürg Marquard, owner of the battered Mister Switzerland brand, is an open question. Mister spokesman and managing director Ralf Huber has no comment on the matter. (hae)

Picture Dominik Kaiser: 3+ Group, Crown: Miss.ch