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, Sof�a 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.
|