Here’s one thing Sofia Vergara isn’t successfully selling: USA Network’s multimillion dollar bet on “Modern Family.”
The successful ABC sitcom, which stars the sexy Colombian actress, had an inauspicious cable rerun beginning last week.
The popular show, which costs USA a pricey $1.8 million per episode, averaged only 1 million viewers per show over its first seven shows.
In the key 18-to-49 demographic, the NBCUniversal cable unit saw its “Modern Family” audience drop 36 percent from those watching the prior week, when “CSI” and “Law & Order: SVU” filled the timeslots.
USA, frequently the nation’s No. 1 cable entertainment channel, typically draws around 2.5 million viewers a night.
Execs at the network slathered the show over seven of its 15 prime-time weekday hours last week.
The disappointing start comes after USA sales execs squeezed media buyers during the upfront for “Big Bang Theory”-sized fees. That CBS rerun airs on TBS.
Some media buyers, who balked at the high price, must be feeling pretty smart at this point.
Those poor results may be short-lived, however, because USA was obligated to begin “Modern Family” reruns the same week as the broadcast networks kicked off premiere week, making it tough to compete, sources told The Post.
A $10 million marketing push hits Monday .
The Emmy-winning show also airs in syndication on Fox 5 in the New York City market and is also available online.
“They have to be disappointed to be averaging 1 million viewers,” Horizon Media’s TV analyst Brad Adgate told The Post.
“ ‘Modern Family’ is a long-term strategic play for USA Network,”said a spokesperson. The show recovered some on Tuesday, gaining 11 percent in the key demographic.