The publishing doyenne came up trumps for the national broadcaster with the first of the highly anticipated two-part series attracting 1.2 million viewers.

Paper Giants follows Buttrose (portrayed by Offspring's Asher Keddie) and Kerry Packer (Rob Carlton) as they fight the impending arrival of Cosmopolitan magazine in Australia by launching Cleo in late 1972.

The title of the show suggests the series focuses on the magazine, and certainly most of the action takes place inside the offices of publishing house ACP, however the storyline puts Buttrose front and centre with the narrative focusing on her personal as well as professional life.

Part two of the series aired last night opening with the magazine editor in hospital after the birth of her second child. It pushed aside Four Corners for the 8.30pm timeslot.

Buttrose may have been ABC's big winner but Seven was the overall winner of the night, with five of the network's programs making the top 10. Seven News was the most-watched show of the evening, with nearly 1.4 million viewers, closely followed by the documentary Mighty Ships, which attracted 1.3 million viewers.

Nine News and Border Security - a consistent performer for Seven - round out the top five.

Ratings: Sunday's top 10 performers

1 Seven News Seven 1,396,000

2 Mighty Ships Seven 1,322,000

3 Nine News Nine 1,299,000

4 Border Security - Australia's Front Line Seven 1,278,000

5 Paper Giants: The Birth Of Cleo Part 1 ABC1 1,207,000

6 The Force - Behind The Line Seven 1,186,000

7 60 Minutes Nine 1,127,000

8 The Biggest Loser Families Ten 1,012,000

9 A Current Affair Nine 997,000

10 Bones (R) Seven 908,000

Did you watch Paper Giants last night? What did you think? Post a comment below...

The ABC is re-screening the show this Sunday. It has been the ABC's highest rating program to date in 2011 averaging 1.34 million over both nights.