Disney XD Strong Out of the Gate

BURBANK: On the heels of Disney XD’s record-setting launch, the boy-skewing service continued to notch up strong numbers over its first four days, led by the premiere of flagship series Aaron Stone and a nine-hour Phineas and Ferb marathon. 

With Aaron Stone, Phineas and Ferb and sneak previews of original series Jimmy Two Shoes and Kid vs. Kat, Disney XD reached 15.7 million unduplicated total viewers and 6.5 million kids aged 6 to 14 in its inaugural weekend on air. The channel, formerly Toon Disney, posted double-digit percent increases over the same four-day period a year ago during its programming day, climbing by 22 percent in total viewers (from 323,000 to 394,000), by 45 percent in kids 6 to 14 (from 134,000 to 194,000) and by 41 percent in boys 6 to 14 (86,000 to 121,000).

Monday’s Phineas and Ferb marathon averaged 637,000 total viewers and 311,000 from the 6-to-14 set, more than doubling year-ago levels. With back-to-back original episodes in its debut last Friday, Aaron Stone surpassed all series premieres on the former Toon Disney in kids 6 to 14 (303,000), driven by the target demo of boys 6 to 14 (232,000). The series, about a teenager enlisted to become the real-life version of a legendary, crime-fighting online game character, delivered triple-digit percentages in growth over the year-ago period, increasing 208 percent in the 6-to-14 demographic (286,000 vs. 93,000) and by 266 percent with boys in the same age bracket (223,000 vs. 61,000). In total viewers, Aaron Stone nearly doubled year-ago levels (549,000 vs. 279,000).