However, the network's true financial reprise came about due to the fact that the controversial adult soap opera serial "Number 96", which premiered in March 1972 on the night that "Australian TV lost its virginity". The series broke new ground for Australian television and captured the imagination of viewers like few programs before or since. For the next three years it was consistently Australia's top-rating television program and, not surprisingly, its huge popularity attracted advertisers to Ten "en masse", with the result that its revenue increased significantly from A$1 million in 1971 to more than A$10 million in 1972.