Disney Channel Crushes Rival In Weekly TV Ratings

As if there's any doubt of the outcome, The Disney Channel obliterated all rivals, even major broadcast network, in the ratings last week. Propelled by the record-breaking premier of High School Musical 2, and the weekly showing of Hannah Montana, the channel racked up number that any network executive would be envious of.

While the ratings would make a broadcast network executive stand up and sing even on a regular-season night, "Musical 2" was extraordinary for cable. It was the most-watched basic cable telecast of all time, the biggest TV program ever among ages 6-11 and drew the best primetime audience for anything on cable or broadcast during the summer other than sports telecasts and the Olympics since September 5, 1997.

"Hannah Montana," which followed "Musical 2" on Friday, averaged 10.7 million viewers, the top telecast for a series in cable history.

Network TV's most-watched program for the week ending Sunday, NBC's "America's Got Talent," barely cleared "Hannah" and couldn't come close to "Musical 2." "Talent" averaged 10.8 million viewers and a 3.1 rating/10 share in the adults 18-49 demographic for Tuesday's telecast, Nielsen Media Research said Tuesday.

While Disney does not make any direct profit from such TV ratings since the Disney Channel has no advertisers, the impact in terms of merchandising and brand recognition is enormous and can be sustained for years to come. This is something more TV shows do not have. Unless they make a misstep, they can milk this cash cow for a long time.

Zz.