If you need any demonstration of the amazing cultural power of tweeners (young people exiting childhood and entering the early years of adolescence), the popularity of the Disney TV movie High School Musical should provide it. It was watched by millions on television, has sold well in DVD, and has spawned a cottage industry of associated paraphernalia including concert tours and CDs.
Last Friday night the sequel, High School Musical 2, kept the tweeners and their undoubtedly reluctant parents enthralled, setting a record for non-network TV viewership:
Friday’s premiere drew an estimated audience of 17.2 million, which would make it the most-watched basic cable program ever, according to Nielsen Media Research. It more than doubled the viewership of the first movie, "High School Musical," which drew 7.7 million in 2006.
The basic cable record had been held by a "Monday Night Football" game on ESPN in 2006, which was watched by 16 million.