Premiere of Disney’s HSM2 on BBC One Scores Strong Ratings

LONDON, March 26: The
British free-TV debut of the Disney Channel original movie High School
Musical 2 on BBC One ranked number
one in its timeslot on Friday, March 21, with individuals aged 4 and older and
kids 4 to 15 across all homes in the U.K.

BBC One’s premiere of High
School Musical 2 at 4:05 p.m. on
March 21 attracted an audience of 2.6 million individuals aged 4 and older, of
which 772,000 were kids 4 to 15. High School Musical 2 also ranked as the number one movie for kids 4 to
15, with a share of 39.7 percent in all U.K. homes; it held a 16.7-percent
share among individuals 4 and older.

Since premiering on Disney
Channel in the U.S., High School Musical 2 has reached 191 million unduplicated viewers worldwide, including
86.8 million in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. It has been licensed by
Disney-ABC International Television to free-TV channels in more than 60
countries outside of the U.S.

When High School
Musical 2 launched on Disney
Channel in the U.K. in August 2007, it became the highest-rated Disney Channel
original Movie on the channel. Meanwhile, the August 2007 premiere of High
School Musical 2 on Disney Channel
in the U.S. rated as U.S. cable’s number one telecast ever.

The movie stars Zac Efron,
Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu and Monique Coleman.
Emmy-Award winners Bill Borden and Barry Rosenbush are the executive producers.
Emmy-winner Don Schain is the producer and Daniel Aranyó is the director of
photography.

The stars of High
School Musical will return for High School Musical 3: Senior Year, which will be released in the U.K. in October
2008.

—By Irene Lew