Between August 11 and 17, BBC1 reported an all-hours share of 27.7 per cent - its best weekly performance for two years, since the 2006 World Cup in Germany, and 6 per cent above its year-to-date average.
In comparison commercial broadcaster ITV posted an all-hours weekly share of 15.9 per cent – its lowest ever ratings share. Channel 4 also reported a low of 6.48 per cent, below the 6.64 per cent it had during Christmas week last year. Together, both channels saw a combined fall of 15.2 per cent on the same period last year.
The biggest audience for an individual event during the BBC's live coverage so far was for Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt's world record-breaking win in the men's 100 metres, with 5.8 million viewers tuning in to BBC1 on Saturday. The broadcaster’s overall share was 47.5 per cent compared with just 4.9 per cent for ITV1.
