You thought the big news on Disney this past week was High School Musical 2? Nope. It was actually what happened to Hannah Montana (wow, a mention of High School Musical and Hannah Montana in the same post - my 14 year-old girl demographic fan base just exploded).
While the musical sequel got big numbers and got all the buzz, the episode of Hannah Montana that followed averaged 10.7 million viewers. That's the highest ratings for a regular series in the history of basic cable. Now, are all these people tuning in to see Miley Cyrus or her dad Billy Ray?
Of course, it helped that Zac Efron and company were the lead in, since High School Musical 2 got over 17 million viewers, the single biggest ratings in basic cable history. Lots of history made over at Disney this week.
[via TV Tattle]















Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-20-2007 @ 2:35PM
Rob Stevens said...
I'm not going to trust that number in the slightest. Instinct tells me that ...
1) The number is much a bit higher for both shows. I've heard that lots of people had viewing parties for HSM2.
2) None of them actually watched the episode of Hannah Montana that followed. They left the TV on, but spent the time talking about HSM2 and ignored the show.
It's very rare that a show will hold onto that much of its lead-in, and I think it's pretty much the "Superbowl" effect ... after watching the marquee show, you leave the TV on while you chat with your friends or clean up the mess.
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8-20-2007 @ 3:22PM
Mariah said...
I disagree. This isn't the same as a the Superbowl effect, because that has very different crowds of people who may or may not enjoy the same kinds of TV shows. For example, I will watch the Superbowl, but I was out for Criminal Minds and promptly turned the channel. I'd have stayed for "How I Met Your Mother" and I did stay for "Alias"
"Hannah Montana," however, is very popular among the same crowd already. I think they were pretty likely to tune in to that in addition to High School Musical 2. I think some of the numbers might be people who just left the TV on, but a good lead-in is a powerful thing no matter what the show or channel.
I have to admit, I watched both. I'm a little ashamed, but they were very cute.
http://thecourier.typepad.com/popgoestheculture/
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8-20-2007 @ 3:55PM
GigG said...
You may disagree Mariah but there are a lot of advertisers who pay a lot of money for those post Superbowl show ad spots.
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8-20-2007 @ 3:56PM
D said...
Rob Stevens, you realize that there was a 15 minute gap between HSM2 and HM, right? Disney showed a preview of some new cartoon of theirs. The fact that Hannah Montana could retain so much of the audience is a sign of its popularity.
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8-20-2007 @ 5:09PM
Tristan said...
Wasnt Hannah Montana in HSM2 anyway, HSM2 had some amazing songs, "Bet on It" was ultimately my favorite.
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8-20-2007 @ 5:48PM
Brooks Williams said...
This is one of those shows that really doesn't deserve it. I'm not really that happy that High School Musical 2 claimed close to 18 million views either... it's such a waste.
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8-20-2007 @ 5:51PM
Rob Stevens said...
"Rob Stevens, you realize that there was a 15 minute gap between HSM2 and HM, right? Disney showed a preview of some new cartoon of theirs. The fact that Hannah Montana could retain so much of the audience is a sign of its popularity."
When was the last time you saw a bunch of kids only talking about a movie they just saw for 15 minutes?
Like I said, I think the numbers are better than Nielsen is showing, because there was a lot of parties. And I think the numbers for Hannah Montana, while impressive, are relatively pointless because I highly doubt all of those sets were being watched.
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8-21-2007 @ 10:29AM
abby said...
ehh im pretty sure half the audience was watching cause that episode featured the jonas brothers.. they weren't literally watching for the cyrus. mostly the jonas'
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8-21-2007 @ 4:46PM
Michael said...
I remember when i was ia kid (way back in the 90s) and Disney Channel had quality childrens programming i stopped watching when i was 10 now looking at their prime time lineup they should just call it the Highschool Musical/ Zach and Cody 24 hour power hour
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9-05-2007 @ 10:37AM
Elizabeth said...
hey hannah
it is Elizabeth
i love that hannah montanna
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10-27-2007 @ 12:50PM
Stephanie said...
The only reason I (and many others) watched was because the Jonas brothers were in the eppisode.
Many reporters fail to mention that on the Best of Both Worlds tour, the Jonas brothers are an opening (and sometimes closing) act. In this eppisode the Jonas Brothers starred. People aren't only there for "hannah"!
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12-06-2007 @ 6:57PM
sage said...
i personally feel sorry for miley/hannah because people sre talking to much crap about her like, is she pregnant, is she married, and does she lip sing?! she has way to much on her plate so cut her some slack!
p.s. i love Miley Cyrus
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