Controversial documentary Struggle Street is now the SBS TV network's highest-rating locally made show.
The first episode of the two-part series, about people in Sydney's Mount Druitt, attracted 1.3 million viewers nationally overall, including 935,000 viewers in the five major cities.
Since official ratings began in 2000 until Wednesday, the highest-rating locally made SBS series was genealogy documentary Who Do You Think You Are?, which attracted an overnight audience of 857,000 in January 2008.
Struggle Street was not only a hit with viewers but the No.1 program on Nielsen's new Twitter TV Ratings, with 98,000 people reading tweets about the show.
Such was the popularity, or curiosity factor, of the series that it was seventh overall in the overnight top 10 on OzTAM's ratings.
It attracted more viewers than reality renovation shows Reno Rumble (791,000) and House Rules (631,000), and long-running Seven Network soapie Home And Away (765,000).
In the lead-up to Wednesday's screening, SBS was lambasted and criticised by the very people who agreed to appear in the show after they watched trailers of the first episode.
Even tabloid TV program A Current Affair came to the aid of a couple who have a son addicted to ice. They detested the show and the way they had been portrayed.
Blacktown Mayor Stephen Bali called it "publicly funded poverty porn".
Mr Bali helped organise a protest of garbage trucks at SBS headquarters on Wednesday to try to stop the show from going to air.
Instead, Struggle Street got truckloads of free publicity and also attracted more viewers than the award-winning Go Back To Where You Came, which won best Factual Entertainment and Best of Rose at the international Rose D'or awards in 2012.
SBS management have declined to comment on why Struggle Street was such a ratings success and whether the ratings now justify airing the series.
The series, which has been cut from three episodes to two, concludes on Wednesday, May 13, at 8.30pm.
HIGHEST RATED LOCALLY MADE SBS SHOWS SINCE 2000.
1. Struggle Street (SBS ONE) - 935,000
2. Who Do You Think You Are? (SBS One) - 857,000 (13/01/2008)
3. Go Back To Where You Came From (SBS One) - 835,000 (28/08/2012)
4. Go Back To Where You Came From (SBS One) - 792,000 (30/08/2012)
5. Go Back To Where You Came From (SBS One) - 756,000 (29/08/2012)
6. A History Of Britain (SBS One) - 737,000 9/12/2001
7. Man v Wild (SBS One) - 722,000 (30/11/2009)
8. Who Do You Think You Are? (SBS One) - 699,000 (28/11/2010)
9. Who Do You Think You Are? (SBS One) - 681,000 (3/04/2012)
10. Once Upon A Time In Cabramatta (SBS One) - 674,000 (8/01/2012)
* Source OzTAM overnight five metro ratings
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