Hot Off Emmy, Modern Family Starts Strong

Modern Family got off to a strong start in broadcast syndication yesterday with a 1.5 household rating, becoming the second-highest-rated off-network sitcom to debut in the past five years, trailing only the 2011 debut of Warner Bros.’ The Big Bang Theory, according to Nielsen ratings.

Modern from Twentieth Television tied Big Bang’s series premiere rating among adults 18-49 with a 0.8 and it ranked No. 1 in adults 25-54 out of all off-network comedy premieres the past five years. It had a 1.0 in that demo.

Modern Family, an ensemble comedy starring Ed O’Neill, is still a top-rated network show on ABC.

Modern Family is also the highest-rated  single-camera comedy in off-network syndication in the past five years, outpacing NBCUniversal’s The Office in households (1.5 vs. 1.1), adults 18-49 (0.8 vs. 0.6) and adults 25-54 (1.0 vs. 0.6).

In top-two DMAs New York and Los Angeles, Modern Family improved over its year-ago time slots.

On launch group Fox Television Station’s WNYW New York, it was up 54% and 20% from a year earlier at 7 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., to a 2.0 and a 2.4, respectively. On KTTV Los Angeles, it was up 75% and 32% in the same time slots, in each half-hour with a 2.1 household rating.