The "quadrennial effect" is the term used by WPP chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell to describe the boost given to the marketing industry by the magic year when the Olympics and the US presidential campaigns occurs, as was the case in 2008.
Chiles takes over from last year's most-watched presenters Ant & Dec, who were relegated to seventh place with their work on ITV1 hits 'I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here' and 'Britain's Got Talent'.
In second place for 2008 was Philip Schofield who would have tied with his co-presenter on 'This Morning' and 'Mr and Mrs', Fern Britton, had it not been for his hit show 'Dancing on Ice' pushing him up to the higher position.
Britton came in at number four on the chart, trailing behind Noel Edmonds, whose job fronting the Channel 4 daytime gameshow 'Deal Or No Deal' puts him in front of 611.7m viewers annually.
Davina McCall's work on Big Brother -- rumoured to be the last year she will host the godfather of reality television programming -- put her at number five on the list.
The research was compiled by Havas-owned media agency MPG based on Barb audience data.
Jim McDonald, head of broadcast at MPG, said: "The Olympics was always going to be one of the biggest TV events of 2008 but the great success achieved by Team GB made the Beijing Games a must see.
"Largely on the back of that success, Adrian Chiles has become the king of British TV presenting."
The top 10 in full:
2008 Ranking/Presenter/Programmes Presented/Combined Audience/2007 Ranking
- Adrian Chiles, Olympics 2008 - The One Show - MOTD2, 1,04bn, -
- Philip Schofield, This Morning - Mr and Mrs - Dancing on Ice, 677.6m, 3
- Noel Edmonds, Deal or No Deal, 611.7m, -
- Fern Britton, This Morning - Mr and Mrs, 494.2m, -
- Davina McCall, Big Brother, 403.5m, -
- Dermot O'Leary, X Factor, 358.5m, 2
- Ant & Dec, I'm a Celebrity - Britain's Got Talent, 314.6m, 1
- Gary Lineker, Match of the Day - Ryder Cup highlights, 302.3m, 4
- Holly Willoughby, The Xtra Factor - Celebrity Juice - Dancing on Ice, 249.8m, -
- Paul O'Grady, The Paul O'Grady Show, 245.2m, -
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