By Lynn Elber, Television Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --CNN and Fox News Channel battled for viewers on the election day that turned into an election week and then some, each earning bragging rights.
CNN edged Fox among total viewers for the week, averaging 5.9 million viewers to Fox's 5.7 million. The latter was dominant on Tuesday as President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden faced off at the polls.
Fox averaged 14.1 million viewers Tuesday to CNN's 9.4 million, with MSNBC drawing 7.6 million, according to Nielsen figures. But CNN was tops among those watching Biden's Saturday evening speech after the race was called in his favor, with 13.5 million tuning in.
MSNBC's coverage of the event drew 9 million viewers, while Fox was watched by 3.1 million.
For the week, MSNBC averaged 4.6 million viewers.
Cable channels were the preferred option for those following the election, as the broadcast networks lagged behind individually and cumulatively. Their Tuesday viewership was ABC, 6.3 million; NBC, 5.8 million; CBS, 4.5 million.
Fox host Laura Ingraham's show, "The Ingraham Angle," had its highest-rated week ever, with an average of 4.9 million viewers.
Viewers also kept an eye on football and the pandemic-delayed season premieres of returning shows, including CBS' "Young Sheldon" and "NCIS: Los Angeles," each drawing 6 million-plus viewers.
Powered by a NFL game, NBC was the week's most-watched network in primetime, reaching an average of 6.33 million viewers. CBS had 4.95 million, the Fox broadcasting network had 4.3 million, ABC had 4.1 million, Univision had 1.34 million, Telemundo had 1.1 million, Ion Television had 1.09 million and CW had 580,000.
Besides the news channels, other cable leaders included ESPN with 2.2 million viewers, Hallmark with 1.5 million and HGTV with 1 million.
ABC's "World News Tonight" led the evening newscasts, averaging 9.4 million viewers for the week. NBC's "Nightly News" had 8.2 million and the "CBS Evening News" had 5.7 million.
For the week of Nov. 2-8, the 20 most-watched programs, their networks and viewership:
1. NFL Football: New Orleans at Tampa Bay, NBC, 16.88 million.
2. Election coverage (Tuesday), Fox News Channel, 14. 6 million.
3. Election coverage (Tuesday), Fox News Channel, 14.5 million.
4. "60 Minutes," CBS, 14 million.
5. Election coverage (Tuesday), Fox News Channel, 13.7 million.
6. NFL Football: Green Bay at San Francisco, Fox, 13.54 million.
7. Election coverage (Saturday), CNN, 13.5 million.
8. Election coverage (Tuesday), Fox News Channel, 13.4 million.
9. "NFL Pre-Game," NBC, 12.5 million.
10. NFL Football: Tampa Bay at New York Giants, ESPN, 12.2 million.
11. "NFL Post-Game," Fox, 11.7 million.
12. Election coverage (Tuesday), Fox News Channel, 11.6 million.
13. Election coverage (Tuesday), Fox News Channel, 10.3 million.
14. Election coverage (Tuesday), CNN, 9.8 million.
15. "Football Night in America," NBC, 9.7 million.
16. Election coverage (Tuesday), CNN, 9.4 million.
17. Election coverage (Tuesday), CNN, 9.2 million.
18. Election coverage (Saturday), MSNBC, 9 million.
19. "NFL Pre-Game," Fox, 8.9 million.
20. Election coverage (Saturday), CNN, 8.7 million.
Harvey Weinstein hit with new sex crime charge in New York
Harvey Weinstein pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a new sex crime charge in New York, as he awaits retrial in his landmark #MeToo case.
Details of the new allegations were not immediately available. He was charged with committing a criminal sex act.
The jailed ex-movie mogul has long maintained that any sexual activity was consensual.
Prosecutors revealed last week that Weinstein had been indicted on additional sex crime charges that weren't part of the case that led to his now-overturned 2020 conviction. But the new indictment was sealed until his arraignment.
Prosecutors have said that the grand jury heard evidence of up to three alleged assaults โ two in hotels in the Tribeca neighborhood and one at a lower Manhattan residential building. The purported incidents took place from the mid-2000s to 2016, prosecutors said.
But it's not clear whether any of those allegations underlie the new indictment.
While bracing for the new charges, Weinstein also is awaiting retrial after New York state's highest court this spring overturned his 2020 conviction on rape and sexual assault charges involving two women. The high court, called the Court of Appeals, ordered a new trial, which is tentatively scheduled to begin Nov. 12.
The Court of Appeals ruled that the then-trial judge unfairly allowed testimony against him based on allegations that were not part of the case. That judge's term expired in 2022, and he is no longer on the bench.
Prosecutors have said they'll seek to fold the new charges into the retrial, but Weinstein's lawyers say it should be a separate case.
Weinstein, who also was convicted in 2022 in a Los Angeles rape case, remains behind bars while awaiting his New York retrial.
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