Anne Sweeney Named MIPCOM 2011 Personality of the Year

PARIS, July 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Reed MIDEM has named Anne Sweeney, Disney/ABC Television Group (DATG) President and Disney Media Networks Co-chair, MIPCOM 2011 Personality of the Year, making her the first woman ever to receive the accolade. She will accept the award on Wednesday 5 October, during a gala dinner for industry executives. The 27th annual MIPCOM, the world's entertainment content market, will be held on 3-6 October 2011 at the Palais des Festivals, in Cannes, France.

Anne Sweeney will give a keynote address on Wednesday 5 October, as part of MIPCOM's Media Mastermind series of presentations.

Named the 'Most Powerful Woman in Entertainment' by The Hollywood Reporter, one of the '50 Most Powerful Women in Business' by Fortune and one of 'The World's 100 Most Powerful Women' by Forbes, Anne Sweeney is responsible for The Walt Disney Company's entertainment and news television properties globally.

"We are extremely pleased to honour Anne Sweeney as our MIPCOM 2011 Personality of the Year in recognition of her unparalleled contributions to the global entertainment industry," said Paul Zilk, Chief Executive of Reed MIDEM. "Of special note is her contribution to the expansion of Disney's portfolio of channels, brands and programming worldwide, as well as her visionary leadership in fostering content on emerging digital platforms."

"I am so very honored to be the recipient of  MIPCOM's 2011 'Personality of the Year,' said Anne Sweeney. "However the accomplishments which have led to this honor are not mine alone.  They are the result of the tireless efforts of so very many talented colleagues.  This event will allow me to acknowledge and celebrate everyone on the Disney/ABC Television Group and Disney Media Distribution teams, who not only create some of the most acclaimed and popular programming around the globe, but also continually develop new, innovative distribution methods that meet the ever-evolving needs of consumers."  

In 2005, Anne Sweeney led the industry into the digital era when the Disney/ABC Television Group became the first media company to put television content on new platforms. The Group was the first to leverage iTunes, the first to introduce an ad-supported full episode player online and the first to deliver a network video application for the revolutionary iPad.  Internationally, the division was responsible in recent years for groundbreaking, advertising-supported VOD deals for network series with a variety of distributors.  All were first-ever deals of their kind in their respective markets and helped establish DATG as a leading innovator in the global distribution marketplace.

Anne Sweeney joined the Walt Disney Company in February 1996 as President of Disney Channel and Executive Vice President of Disney/ABC Cable Networks. Previously, she was Chairman and CEO of FX Networks since 1993. Before joining Fox, she spent 12 years at Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite, in various executive positions.

Anne Sweeney is active in organisations both within and outside the television industry and is a board member of A&E Television Networks, the Paley Center for Media, the American Institute and the Special Olympics.

ABOUT REED MIDEM

Founded in 1963, Reed MIDEM is a leading organiser of professional, international tradeshows. Reed MIDEM events have established themselves as key dates in professional diaries. The company hosts MIPTV, MIPDOC, MIPCOM, and MIPJUNIOR for the television and digital content industries, MIDEM for music professionals, MIPIM, MIPIM Asia and MAPIC for the property and retail real estate sectors.

Reed Exhibitions is the world's leading events organiser, with over 460 events in 36 countries covering 44 industry sectors. In 2010 Reed brought together over seven million active event participants from around the world generating billions of dollars in business. Today Reed events are held throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, and organised by 34 fully staffed offices.

ABOUT DISNEY/ABC TELEVISION GROUP

The Disney/ABC Television Group's is composed of The Walt Disney Company's (NYSE: DIS) global entertainment and news television properties, owned television stations group, as well as radio and publishing businesses. This includes the ABC Television Network, ABC Owned Television Stations Group, ABC Studios, Disney Channels Worldwide, ABC Family and SOAPnet, as well as Disney/ABC Domestic Television and Disney Media Distribution. The Radio Disney network, Hyperion publishing, and the Company's equity interest in A&E Television Networks round out the Group's portfolio of media businesses

SOURCE Reed MIDEM