Reed MIDEM announced the MIPCOM 2011 Personality of the Year today, and for the first time the honor is going to a woman.

The honoree is Anne Sweeney, Disney/ABC Television Group president and Disney Media Networks co-chair.

The 27th annual MIPCOM, the world’s entertainment content market, will be held Oct. 3-6, 2011, at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France. Sweeney will receive her award on Wednesday, Oct. 5, at a gala dinner for industry executives.

That same day, Sweeney will give a keynote address as part of MIPCOM’s Media Mastermind series of presentations.

In a statement, Paul Zilk, chief executive of Reed MIDEM, said: “We are extremely pleased to honor Anne Sweeney as our MIPCOM 2011 Personality of the Year in recognition of her unparalleled contributions to the global entertainment industry. 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."