'Baby Daddy' Debut Draws 1.7 Million Viewers

Second biggest comedy debut for ABC Family

By R. Thomas Umstead, Multichannel News -- Broadcasting & Cable, 6/22/2012 9:33:58 AM

ABC Family's new comedy series Baby Daddy netted nearly 2 million viewers in its Wednesday night premiere, the second-biggest comedy debut for the network.

The series, which stars Jean-Luc Bilodeau as a 20-something single man forced to raise a baby left on her doorstep by an ex-girlfriend, drew 1.7 million viewers, second only to the 2.1 million viewers generated by the debut of Melissa & Joey in 2010, said network officials.

The series was also popular with women, averaging 492,000 viewers in the female 18-34 demo and 732,000 women 18-39, said the network.

Baby Daddy lead-in Melissa & Joey delivered its highest viewership for its sophomore season Wednesday, averaging 1.5 million total viewers and 626,00 viewers in the network's core 18-49 demo.