'Modern Family' Repeats Going to the USA Network in Fall 2013

[Brian Damage]

http://www.deadline.com/hollywood/

The TV syndication market is red-hot and here's more evidence: the 2 most talked-about new series of this TV season, Fox’s Glee and ABC’s Modern Family, are headed to big off-network syndication deals. We've learned that Twentieth Television is finalizing separate deals for the cable rights to both hit shows made by 20th Century Fox TV with NBC Universal’s Oxygen and USA Network. Glee will be heading to Oxygen, which we hear is paying mid-six figures per episode, plus airing a 2011 reality show to find the next Glee star. While Modern Family will land at USA Network which until now has been focused on hour long procedurals. We hear the deals were negotiated directly with the cable networks, both of whom are NBCU-owned and soon to be Comcast-owned.

That Glee reality show on Oxygen for next summer will feature contestants vying for a role on the musical dramedy. Co-creator Ryan Murphy had originally planned the contest to lead Glee’s 2nd season premiere on Fox this coming fall. But then he realized he was too busy. Additionally, we hear the Oxygen deal involves some additional Glee-related original programming. This syndication deal also will include a station component. As a source told us, "Twentieth TV sees the big picture of this show. It's intent on building this brand that is Glee: a live touring business, music download business, soundtrack album business, DVD business, now syndication business."

As for Modern Family, USA has been mulling an expansion into the half-hour business and recently ordered its first half-hour script. The network also has been looking for off-network series to support its upcoming half-hour originals and, before landing Modern Family, it made a play for Two and a Half Men, which went to TBS. The Modern Family sale marks the 2nd series from freshman class 2009-2010 picked up by USA. Last fall, the cable network shelled out $2.2M-$2.3M per episode for the rights to the CBS drama NCIS: Los Angeles.

[Pavan]

USA NETWORK ACQUIRES RIGHTS TO MODERN FAMILY

TWENTIETH TELEVISION AND USA NETWORK REACH AGREEMENT FOR SYNDICATION RIGHTS TO TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX TELEVISION’S HIT SERIES MODERN FAMILY

Award Winning Sitcom to Make Syndication Debut in Fall 2013


NEW YORK, NEW YORK – June 29, 2010 – USA Network has reached an agreement with Twentieth Television, acquiring the exclusive syndication rights to the critically acclaimed ratings hit MODERN FAMILY. The announcement was made today by Jane Blaney, USA’s executive vice president, programming, acquisitions and scheduling and Steve MacDonald, EVP, General Sales Manager, Basic Cable of Twentieth Television. Under the agreement, USA will strip the series Monday through Sunday beginning Fall 2013.

“This is by far the most significant sitcom acquisition we have ever made. Modern Family is the hottest new sitcom that premiered during the ’09-’10 TV season and it’s a perfect fit for USA,” said Blaney. “The terrific writing, incredible ensemble cast and the ‘cool’ cultural relevance align perfectly with the Characters Welcome brand.”

“Modern Family is an incredible comedy series driven by a strong ensemble cast, which we think will be an excellent complement to USA Network’s slate of character driven programs,” MacDonald added. “We are thrilled that Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd’s television family now has a second home on cable.”

MODERN FAMILY rose to the top of the ratings charts, topped critics’ lists and won the Peabody Award, two Writers Guild Awards and the Directors Guild Award, as well as scoring Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations. The #1 new half-hour comedy of the 09/10 season among A18-49 and total viewers, and averaging 11.2 million viewers each week, MODERN FAMILY is ABC’s highest rated new comedy dating back nine years, and the highest rated half-hour freshman comedy on any network dating back three years.

MODERN FAMILY stars Ed O’Neill as Jay, Julie Bowen as Claire, Ty Burrell as Phil, Sofía Vergara as Gloria, Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Mitchell, Eric Stonestreet as Cameron, Sarah Hyland as Haley, Nolan Gould as Luke, Ariel Winter as Alex and Rico Rodriguez as Manny.
The series is produced by Twentieth Century Fox Television in association with Levitan Lloyd Productions. Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd are executive producers/creators. The pilot was directed by Jason Winer, who also serves as co-executive producer on the series.

About Twentieth Television

A leader in the U.S. program production and distribution arena, Twentieth Television provides a wide array of first-run, network and off-network programming, as well as feature film packages, to the syndication and cable marketplaces. First-run programs distributed by Twentieth Television include the game shows “Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?” & “Don’t Forget the Lyrics!,” and the court shows “Divorce Court” & “Judge Alex.” Off-net shows distributed by Twentieth include “Family Guy,” “24,” “COPS,” “The Simpsons,” “Boston Legal,” “My Name is Earl,” “The Unit,” “Bones,” the 2010 launch of “How I Met Your Mother” & “American Dad!” followed by the 2011 launch of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.”

About USA Network

USA Network is the #1 network in all of basic cable and is seen in over 98.5 million U.S. homes. A division of NBC Universal, USA is the cable television leader in original series and home to the best in blockbuster theatrical films, acquired television series and entertainment events. The award-winning USA website is located at www.usanetwork.com. Characters Welcome.

USA Network is a program service of NBC Universal Cable a division of NBC Universal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience.