By David Bauder, Media Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --Former President Donald Trump reached less than a million measurable television viewers over the weekend in his return to the public stage at a North Carolina political event.
Newsmax averaged just under 700,000 viewers between 8 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Saturday when Trump spoke, the Nielsen company said. His speech was also carried live on One America News Network and C-SPAN, but their audience is not measured by Nielsen.
Fox News Channel did not carry the speech by the former president beloved by many of its viewers. The network averaged more than 1.5 million viewers for its typical Saturday night fare of Jesse Watters and Jeanine Pirro.
Although Trump couldn't eclipse Fox's regular lineup, at least for Newsmax, showing the former president live appeared to be a good business decision for the network. So far this year, Newsmax has averaged 202,000 viewers in primetime, including the more heavily trafficked weeknights, Nielsen said.
Later on Saturday, Fox's debut hour with conservative media personality Dan Bongino reached 1.8 million people, making it the most-watched cable news show of the weekend.
The broadcast networks made a swift turn into summer, with NBC's "America's Got Talent" topping the ratings upon its return. CBS led for the week, averaging 3.3 million viewers in primetime. ABC had 3.17 million, NBC had 3.16 million, Fox had 1.7 million, Univision had 1.5 million, Ion Television had 970,000 and Telemundo had 880,000.
TNT led the cable news networks, averaging 2.36 million viewers in primetime last week. Fox News Channel had 1.94 million, HGTV had 1.25 million, MSNBC had 1.23 million and TBS had 938,000.
ABC's "World News Tonight" led the evening news ratings race, averaging 7.3 million viewers. NBC's "Nightly News" had 6.3 million, and the "CBS Evening News" had 4.7 million.
For the week of May 31 to June 6, the 20 most-watched programs in primetime, their networks and viewerships:
1. "America's Got Talent," NBC, 7.37 million.
2. "60 Minutes," CBS, 7.06 million.
3. "Celebrity Family Feud," ABC, 5.74 million.
4. "Kennedy Center Honors," CBS, 5.32 million.
5. "Station 19," ABC, 4.9 million.
6. "America's Funniest Home Videos," ABC, 4.78 million.
7. "Grey's Anatomy," ABC, 4.76 million.
8. "NCIS," CBS, 4.72 million.
9. NBA Playoffs: Phoenix at L.A. Lakers (Thursday), TNT, 4.53 million.
10. "FBI," CBS, 4.27 million.
11. "Law & Order: SVU," NBC, 4.23 million.
12. "The Chase," ABC, 4.07 million.
13. "Law & Order: Organized Crime," NBC, 4.02 million.
14. "United States of Al," CBS, 3.951 million.
15. "New Amsterdam," NBC, 3.947 million.
16. Soccer: EE UU vs Mexico, Univision, 3.923 million.
17. "Young Sheldon," CBS, 3.922 million.
18. "FBI: Most Wanted," CBS, 3.89 million.
19. "The $100,000 Pyramid," ABC, 3.67 million.
20. NBA Playoffs: L.A. Clippers at Dallas (Friday), ESPN, 3.61 million.
Jean Smart, Ariana Grande, Michael Keaton among hosts for “SNL” season 50
Fresh off her Emmys win, Jean Smart will kick off the landmark 50th season of "Saturday Night Live."
NBC on Thursday announced the lineup of hosts for the season, which premieres Sept. 28. Joining Smart on the first show will be Jelly Roll as the musical act. He was also at the Emmys, singing during the ceremony's in memoriam segment.
It will be Smart's first time hosting "SNL."
Comedian Nate Bargatze will host on Oct. 5, with Coldplay as the musical guest.
Ariana Grande will host Oct. 12, with musical guest Stevie Nicks.
"Beetlejuice" star Michael Keaton will host on Oct. 19, the last show before Halloween, and Billie Eilish will be that night's musical guest.
The host on Nov. 2 will be "SNL" alum John Mulaney, with breakout sensation Chappell Roan as the music guest.
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