‘HSM 2’ is a ratings monster

By RICK KUSHMAN

SACRAMENTO (CALIF.) BEE

Told you this would be big. That peppy little monster, “High School Musical 2,” exploded in the ratings last week and became the most-watched show on cable ever.

There you go, a major record and no steroids involved. The sequel to Disney Channel’s uber-popular “High School Musical” drew 17.2 million viewers and showed just what can happen when there’s a beat you can dance to.

“HSM2,” which is what you call it, by the way, was also the most-watched show on all television all summer, going all the way back to the final week of the TV season in May. And there’s more.

It was the most-watched TV show in history by kids ages 6 to 11 — an important demographic if you sell toys or breakfast cereal — and it was the most-watched entertainment TV show in history for ‘tweens, ages 9 to 14. The only TV event ever to draw more ‘tweens was the 2004 Super Bowl.

So what are the lessons here? First, there is still such a thing as a G-rated blockbuster; and second, when you make shows for the younger parts of the youth culture, they still have to be good. And it also never hurts if the music is zippy enough to sell piles of DVDs.

But there is something else that looms for broadcast networks, the current rulers of television: The old distinctions between broadcast and cable don’t matter to younger viewers, who are wired and multifaceted in their tastes, and who are used to searching wherever they need to for shows and video they like.