HDTV Ratings: Can Modern Family Survive the Big Bang?

TV3’s new year’s resolution of turning HD sitcom Modern Family into a primetime drawcard for 2011 will be tested tonight when it squares off against TV2’s The Big Bang Theory in the 7pm weeknight slot.

Modern Family’s season-one re-runs started a week ago, opposite TV2’s HD animated specials spun off the movies Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar and Shrek.

It fared best against Merry Madagascar but still finished third in most of the key demographics, after the ‘toons and TV One’s MasterChef UK.

The Big Bang Theory has been a smash hit for TV2 and even opposite re-runs it’s unlikely Modern Family will be able to build the momentum TV3 was hoping for as a platform to launch the second season.

In the US, it continues to be one of the top-rating comedies and season one was highly recommended by Dark Horizons as one of 2010’s top TV-on-Blu-ray releases – although in this market it can be bought only on DVD.

But at least the US Blu-ray is region-free. While the series looks fantastically vibrant in 1080i on TV3, Hi-Def Digest predicted fans who buy the Blu-ray will be “ecstatic to see their favourite show presented even better than it was during its run on ABC (and it looked really good on TV, too).”