NEW animated series Marvel's Ultimate Spider-Man has climbed to record ratings on Disney XD UK.
The show launched in the UK on May 31, 2012, and became the top-rated animated title on the channel, reaching an audience of 1.2 million including 683,000 children aged 4 to 15 and 265,000 boys aged 8 to12 in its first six weeks on air.
The premiere episode of Ultimate Spider-Man was the best performing show in its timeslot with boys aged 8 to 12 on any kids TV channel in the UK, including those available in twice as many homes.
Over the first six weeks, the series also boosted year-on-year Disney XD ratings for its timeslot by 77 per cent.
"The success of Ultimate Spider-Man demonstrates the demand for Marvel content from a new generation," said Boel Ferguson, general manager of Disney Channels UK & Ireland.
"Following the incredible success of Marvel's Avengers Assemble in theatres across the UK we wanted to give our viewers a go-to TV destination for more excitement and energy of the latest Marvel series like Ultimate Spider-Man.
"Beginning today, August 17, Marvel Universe will become the TV home for everyone's favorite superheroes."
Marvel Universe, a programming block airing every Friday at 3.30pm on Disney XD, will feature popular heroes including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk and Spider-Man.
The Disney XD block will be home to all of Marvel's action-packed animated series including Ultimate Spider-Man, The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes and Iron Man: Armored Adventures.
The success of Spider-Man on TV screens has been mirrored by the success of the franchise across UK retailers, with both Argos and Tesco having included the Web Shooting Spider-Man action figure from Hasbro in their top Christmas recommendations.
Marvel's Ultimate Spider-Man is guided by a top creative team including Marvel's chief creative officer Joe Quesada, Marvel's EVP - head of television Jeph Loeb, supervising producer Man of Action Studios (Joe Kelly, Joe Casey, Steven T. Seagle & Duncan Rouleau), creative consultant/writer Paul Dini (Batman: The Animated Series, Lost), and consulting producer/writer Brian Michael Bendis (Ultimate Spider-Man comic series).
In the storyline, a teenage Peter Parker (voiced by actor Drake Bell) juggles the relatable challenges of high school with the extraordinary challenges of being a superhero.
Nick Fury (voiced by actor Chi McBride) invites Parker to train with his S.H.I.E.L.D. organization, where Peter's alter-ego Spider-Man will join forces with four other teenage heroes - Nova, White Tiger, Power Man and Iron Fist, on the greatest adventure ever as they work to become ultimate superheroes.