Disney’s ‘Descendants’ Draws 6.6 Million Viewers

Disney Channel’s original movie Descendants was magical from a ratings perspective, delivering 6.6 million viewers during its Friday night premiere, said network officials.

The film, which stars Dove Cameron (Liz & Maddie), ranks as the top cable TV movie of the year in total viewers and the top cable TV telecasts among kids ages 2-11 (3 million) and tweens ages 9-14 (2.3 million), said the network. (MCN Content review: Descendants.)

Along with Teen Beach 2, Disney Channel now has the top two most watched cable TV telecast in two years among those targeted youth demographics.

The premiere audience for Descendants is in addition to the 1.4 million views the movie generated on the WATCH Disney Chanel since its launch on the app July 24.

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.