Clubhouse, Manny Rate for Disney

Disney Channel enjoyed a big morning with the preschool set Sept. 16.

New episodes of Mickey Mouse’s Clubhouse and the debut of Handy Manny last Saturday resonated with the 2-5 crowd, setting network ratings records among its target demo for an original series.

Part of the network’s Playhouse Disney preschool programming block, Handy Manny attracted some 1.1 million kids 2-5, according to Nielsen Media Research data. Of that total, 588,000 were girls of that age, versus 521,000 boys.

The computer-graphics-animated series -- featuring Spanish words and phrases and the voice talents of Wilmer Valderrama (That 70s Show) as the main character -- benefited from new installments of Mickey Mouse’s Clubhouse.

Indeed, the first airing Sept. 16 at 9 a.m. now stands as Playhouse Disney's most-watched series telecast of all-time in the daypart among total viewers (2.71 million) and with kids 2-5 (1.15 million). The subsequent installment at 9:30 a.m. became the network’s second-most-watched on record in total viewers (2.68 million) and kids 2-5 (1.14 million).