High School Musical 2 hits a high note

The hugely anticipated premiere of High School Musical 2 sang and danced its way into Disney Channel UK history on Saturday night, when record audiences tuned in to see the East High Wildcats on their latest summer adventure.

The four transmissions (two on Disney Channel and two on Disney Channel +1) resulted in a record breaking 1.74 million viewers tuning in. Of this phenomenal figure, 1 million were kids (4-15). The premiere pushed up Disney Channel* UK's audience day share, which reached 19.8% - its best ever audience day share among kids across multichannel homes.

The 6pm premiere was watched by 750,000 kids, with an average share of 38.4%, which ranked No 1 across all channels in the timeslot and catapults High School Musical 2 into the top five kids movies across all channels so far this year,** even beating Harry Potter & The Chamber of Secrets on ITV1. The four telecasts collectively resulted in the biggest audience among kids last night, even beating top soaps 'EastEnders' and 'Coronation Street'.

The premiere telecast also notched up 1.2 million individuals with an 8.4% audience share across multichannel homes. This number of individuals is equal to The Simpsons primetime broadcast on Channel 4 and is bigger than Hollyoaks primetime broadcast on Channel 4, as well as all the morning shows across BBC One, ITV1, Channel 4 and Five, including the Jeremy Kyle show on ITV1.

Peak audiences during the first telecast resulted in 804,000 kids and 1.3 million individuals.

These figures mean that the premiere showing of High School Musical 2 is Disney Channel UK's best rated show ever!

Rob Gilby, Managing Director, Disney Channel UK said:

"Kids around the world are as enthusiastic as ever for 'High School Musical' and these UK viewing figures for the sequel show there is continued appreciation for the music, the characters and the stories kids find relevant to their lives."

Following High School Musical 2, viewers tuning in last night were also treated to a sneak preview of a fantastic new Disney Channel animation show, Phineas and Ferb, which launches in January.

High School Musical 2 sees the entire original cast and creative team reunite to repeat the magic they conjured for the first High School Musical, directed once again by the Emmy Award winning Kenny Ortega. It also received record breaking figures when it premiered in the US last month, with a staggering 17.2 million viewers tuning in, making it the most watched cable show on US television ever.

* including Disney Channel+1
** to 9th September 2007

Ratings figures: BARB/ unofficial overnights, based on 5 minutes data.