BBC One's coverage of Friday's opening ceremony peaked with 10.2m viewers and a 48.5% share. The extravaganza's audience averaged 8.6m or 46% share over four hours.
It managed to beat ITV1 soaps 'Emmerdale' and 'Coronation Street', which attracted 6.5m and 8.5m respectively.
BBC Two managed an impressive 4.4m, a 23% share, on Saturday when Peter Waterfield and Leon Taylor took the first British silver medal for synchronised diving.
BBC Two also enjoyed ratings success when it dedicated its entire peaktime coverage to the Olympics last night. The coverage from 6pm pulled in 3.7m viewers or 18.5%, peaking at 4.9m or 22.6%.
In contrast, the channel managed an overall peaktime share of 8.3% last Wednesday, when it showed 'Trouble at the Top' and 'Trading Ages'.
NBC's Olympic coverage in the US has also picked up after a slow start. Viewing numbers rocketed on Monday night for the network's primetime coverage, when an estimated 27m tuned in to the swimming and gymnastics events.
This year's US audiences are beating those of the Sydney Olympics, which stood at 21m at the same stage in the games in 200.
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