ITV to host Miss World

UK broadcaster ITV has picked up the rights to the upcoming Miss World 2001, with a tx date set for November.

The controversial beauty pageant will be broadcast on digital channel ITV2 on November 16, with a one-off show Miss World – You Decide semi-final airing a week earlier on ITV.

Initial, a subsidiary of Endemol Entertainment UK produces the contest. Endemol's distribution division Gem is handling worldwide distribution, with sales to international broadcasters numbering over 100.

Miss World 2001 will be held in Sun City, South Africa, with Andy Ward and Malcolm Gerrie executive producing.

The contest is broadcast globally and has often incurred the wrath of feminists over the years. So much so that it has previously been dropped by UK broadcasters BBC, ITV and Channel 5 in the past.