CANNES: The Monte-Carlo TV Festival and Eurodata TV Worldwide announced at MipTV the nominees for the inaugural International TV Audience Awards. These Awards reward the highest-rated shows in the drama, comedy and telenovela/soap opera categories.

The Awards will be presented based on the sum of TV ratings across five continents. The nominees are pre-selected among the ten best imported fiction programs in 51 countries, i.e., 2.5 billion potential viewers.

Nominees for drama are Lost, CSI and Without a Trace; the comedy nominees are Desperate Housewives, Joey and Mr. Bean; and the telenovela/soap nominees are The Bold and the Beautiful from the U.S., Rubi from Mexico and Pasión de Gavilanes from Colombia.

The winners will be presented at the 46th Monte Carlo Television Festival Awards on 1 July in Monaco.