The series finale of The Gruen Transfer was a TV ratings winner for the ABC, with almost 1.5 million viewers tuning in.
Just over 1.45 million watched the TV panel show about advertising on Wednesday night to make it the third most viewed ABC program of the year.
It smashed its competition, including Seven's Criminal Minds, McLeod's Daughters on Nine and the US So You Think You Can Dance on Ten.
The Gruen Transfer was not far behind the most watched ABC show of the year, the British drama Doc Martin, which scored 1.507 million viewers in May, the ABC said.
Andrew Denton's interview with fallen AFL star Wayne Carey is second with 1.498 million.
Produced by Denton and hosted by Wil Anderson, The Gruen Transfer gives viewers an inside look into the way the advertising industry works.
Wednesday night's episode featured a segment on how to keep tourists away from Australia, and examined the extent of product promotion on the pay TV show Football Superstar.
The best results were in Melbourne where 472,000 tuned in, followed closely by Sydney, which had just 1,000 fewer people.
Thanks also to good performances from Spicks and Specks and ABC News, the public broadcaster had more than a 20 per cent audience share on Wednesday night.
It finished the night in third place behind Seven and Nine.
A second series of the Gruen Transfer will air in early 2009.
