Execs at Disney Channel knew it would be huge -- but not quite this record-setting massive. The Friday preem of Disney Channel's "High School Musical 2" brought in an astounding 17.24 million viewers, making it the most watched basic cable telecast ever, including sports telecasts, Disney Channel said Saturday. "HSM2" tuner now ranks as the most-watched TV movie ever with kids 6-11, drawing 6.1 million viewers in that demo, and the most-watched ever with tweeners 9-14, drawing 5.9 million viewers in that demo, according to Disney Channel. In total households, pic drew a massive 9.4 million cable homes, putting the telecast behind only a handful of sports and news telecasts in cable history in total households deliver. The high total viewer tally also indicates that pic was a family viewing event in most of those 9.4 million households.

Wow i must say that this is proof that HSM2 was just as good as HSM1. They could never replace HSM1 but they did a great job on the followup
Source: Variety