Question: When pitching the show Modern Family, why did the creators refuse to make a deal with Fox?
About the article "Modern Family", section "Conception".

Candidate passages:
As creators Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan retold stories about their families, they realized that the stories could be the basis for a show.
They started working on the idea of a family being observed in a mockumentary-style show.
They later decided that it could be a show about three families and their experiences.
It was originally called "My American Family".
The creators pitched it to the Big Three television networks (they did not pitch it to Fox because of issues Lloyd had with the network over "Back to You").
CBS, which was not ready to use the single-camera style of filming nor ready to make another large commitment, rejected the series.
The network had recently aired "Welcome to The Captain" and "Worst Week", two single-camera sitcoms that lasted only one season (CBS would not attempt another single-camera series until 2013, when it picked up both "We Are Men" and "The Crazy Ones" for its fall lineup; "We Are Men" was cancelled after two episodes).
NBC, already broadcasting "The Office" and "Parks and Recreation", decided against taking on a third mockumentary-style show.
ABC accepted the series and picked it up for a full season.
While working in the office Lloyd and Levitan were telling stories about their family and they thought that could be a show idea, and started working around the idea of a families being observed in a mockumentary style show.
They then later decided it would be a show about three families and their experiences.
The show was originally called "My American Family".
Originally, the camera crew would be run by a fictitious Dutch filmmaker named Geert Floortje who had lived with Jay's family as a teenage exchange student and developed a crush on Claire (while Mitchell had a crush on him), but decided against it.
The creators pitched it to three of the four major networks (they did not pitch it to Fox due to problems Lloyd had with the network with previous shows).
CBS, not ready to use the single-camera style of filming, nor ready to make another large commitment, did not accept the series.
NBC, already having two shows of similar style (mockumentary), "The Office" and "Parks and Recreation", decided against accepting the series until the success of the other two series decreases.
ABC accepted the series.
The series was given a full season pickup on October 8, 2009.
On January 12, 2010, ABC Entertainment President Stephen McPherson announced that "Modern Family" had been renewed for a second season. 
Fox picked up the series for a 10 episode second season after it was dropped by ABC.
The series creators paid particular attention to focus groups and other sources of criticism.
They changed some of the designs, opting to make Jay Sherman's head rounder and his pupils bigger, introduced a love interest (Alice Tompkins) and generally made Sherman's character less pathetic.
The lower budget also necessitated a clip show episode as one of the 10 from the season.
The series went over as poorly at Fox as it did at ABC.
In the DVD commentary tracks, Al Jean offered several reasons why the show failed on Fox despite promising ratings when put alongside The Simpsons (particularly after the cameo appearances by Jay Sherman on The Simpsons), mainly that the network simply didn't have as much financial interest in the series because they didn't own it.
The Critic was solely owned by Sony, which meant that reruns and syndication deals would not net Fox any money down the road, whereas a 20th Century Fox show like "King of the Hill" would yield profits.
He also suggested that Fox had less invested into the series because it was inherited from another network.
The series was canceled a second time after the second season. 
Despite having better ratings and reviews than its comedy companion '"Til Death", the series was not renewed by the network on May 9, 2008, while "'Til Death" was renewed.
The comedy was shopped around for a new home, under Grammer's request, and CBS was interested in picking up the comedy for a second season.
With this, CBS was also interested in using the comedy to open an extension night of comedy beyond Monday night, giving the series as a solid anchor for the extension.
However, Grammer was already searching for a new show and ABC had given him some new projects (one was an overseas remake of Roman's Empire, which failed to pick up, and "Hank", which premiered Fall 2009, but was canceled after five episodes).
Heaton also was interested in an ABC project ("The Middle", which also premiered in fall 2009 and is currently in its Fifth season).
As a result, "Back to You" was never renewed.
In a somewhat related note, the creators of the show, Lloyd & Levitan, would go on to create another fall 2009 series for ABC, "Modern Family", which features fellow "Back to You" star Burrell, as well as Willard as Burrell's character's father, and even airs after "The Middle" (which aired after "Hank" from September–November 2009).
When originally pitching their show, Lloyd & Levitan never offered "Modern Family" to Fox because of their issues dealing with that network over "Back to You". 
While working in the office Lloyd and Levitan were telling stories about their family and they thought that could be a show idea, and started working around the idea of a families being observed in a mockumentary style show.
They then later decided it would be a show about three families and their experiences.
The show was originally called "My American Family".
Originally, the camera crew would be run by a fictitious Dutch filmmaker named Geert Floortje who had lived with Jay's family as a teenage exchange student and developed a crush on Claire (while Mitchell had a crush on him), but decided against it.
The creators pitched it to three of the four major networks (they did not pitch it to Fox due to problems Lloyd had with the network with previous shows).
CBS, not ready to use the single-camera style of filming, nor ready to make another large commitment, did not accept the series.
NBC, already having two shows of similar style (mockumentary), "The Office" and "Parks and Recreation", decided against accepting the series until the success of the other two series decreases.
ABC accepted the series.
The series quickly became a priority for ABC after the pilot episode tested high with focus groups, resulting in the network ordering 13 episodes and adding it to the 2009–2010 fall lineup days ahead of ABC's official schedule announcement.
The series was given a full season pickup on October 8, 2009.
On January 12, 2010, ABC Entertainment President Stephen McPherson announced that "Modern Family" had been renewed for a second season.