Disney’s High School Musical 2 set a record for Family Channel last Friday, when it became the cable caster’s first program to attract more than one million viewers, according to BBM Nielsen preliminary overnights.

Those are numbers almost always reserved for popular shows on conventional television.

Family VP and GM Joe Tedesco tells Playback Daily the specialty is ‘thrilled’ the show resonated with Canadian tweens nearly as much as it did south of the border on Disney Channel. HSM 2 was watched by 17.2 million viewers in the U.S., according to Nielsen estimates. The show now has American bragging rights as the most-watched basic cable telecast of all time, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

‘We’ve had movies that have generated north of 500,000 viewers, but to score the one-million mark is unprecedented,’ Tedesco says, noting that the subscription-based channel is available in just 5.4 million Canuck homes, compared to 10 million households for conventional networks.

HSM 2 also drew a 48 share among Family’s key 8-14 demographic, meaning one in two kids aged 8-14 who were watching TV on Aug. 17 between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. were watching Musical 2.

In the song- and dance-filled sequel, school’s out for summer, and the members of the East High Wildcats are looking to land decent summer jobs and have a good time. Stars include Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens and Corbin Bleu.

Tedesco says Family invested ‘a great deal’ of marketing support for the movie throughout the summer.

‘It’s a great product. That’s where it all starts,’ he says.

Family, which is owned by Astral Media, will air encore presentations of HSM 2 on Sept. 16 and Sept. 28.