ABC is about to announce that it will expand "World News with Charles Gibson" to an hour Monday night. Last week CBS and NBC announced expanded Evening News and Nightly News broadcasts on the night before the election.

For ABC, Charlie Gibson will anchor Monday's broadcast from the Times Square studios, where ABC's election night will also originate.

The network anchors are finishing up a week that has taken them to three states in four days: Louisiania, Minnesota and California. The Big 3 emceed last night's Stand up to Cancer event. USA today called it, "an unusual alliance" since ABC, CBS and NBC also aired the one hour special "with their respective news anchors Charles Gibson, Katie Couric and Brian Williams participating. All did their evening newscasts from the Kodak Theatre, also the home of the Academy Awards."

And to get a sense of the star status that comes with being a network anchor, check out the video below of Couric, after she, Gibson and Williams finished a series of interviews promoting the event Wednesday night at the RNC.

...and after the jump, the anchors pause for a photo op with the network publicists who organized Wednesday's interviews, including Sandy Genelius and Leigh Farris of CBS, Lauren Kapp of NBC and Jeffrey Schneider of ABC.

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After last night's taping of the Stand up to Cancer interviews with the Big 3 anchors, the management of the Xcel Energy Center presented personalized jerseys to them. The "X," as the locals calls it is hosting the RNC this week, but it is normally home to the Minnesota Wild NHL team.

As Katie Couric, Charlie Gibson and Brian Williams got their jerseys, Couric joked, "at least mine doesn't have number 3."

Also, earlier in the clip, listen as Gibson ribs his competitors about how much time he's getting in prime time. "They've only got an hour, I'm doing two," he said. Couric responded, "You are?" He wasn't

Gov. Sarah Palin was a hot topic in the anchor to anchor interviews, with Katie Couric telling Robin Roberts, "I'm on guard for sexist coverage." And as she wrapped up her interview Charlie Gibson made mention of Roberts' own courageous battle with breast cancer.

The third of the morning anchors to interview the evening anchors was the Early Show's Maggie Rodriguez. And click continued to see more of the Rodriguez interview with the evening anchors...

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As Meredith Vieira finished her interview and Robin Roberts got into place, Katie said hello to her former Today show colleague, senior broadcast producer Don Nash. As Vieira walked off the platform, she returned telling the anchors, "Robin just said 'see you Katie.'"

"You all look alike to me," joked Roberts. First video below, then click continued to see more of the Roberts interview...

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This week the term 'anchor' doesn't really fit.

On Sunday Katie Couric, Charlie Gibson and Brian Williams were along the Gulf Coast, on Tuesday they'd arrived in St. Paul, on Friday they'll be in Los Angeles. The assignments along the Gulf and at the RNC are competitive. When they get to LA, they'll be working together, appearing for the Stand up to Cancer event being broadcast on ABC, CBS and NBC at 8pmET/PT.

TVNewser got, we won't say that word — exclusive, but, rather, intimate access to the CBS News platform tonight where the back-to-back-to-back interviews took place. A few minutes after Katie Couric finished the Evening News, Charlie Gibson bounced up to the platform, and Brian Williams a few minutes later. The anchors sat down with Today's Meredith Vieira GMA's Robin Roberts, and the Early Show's Maggie Rodriguez.

The interviews will air tomorrow on Today, Good Morning America and the Early Show. Below is the first video as the anchors get ready for the interviews...and after the jump, which anchor prompted Gibson to joke, "Which network is this for?"

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Check out the clip from Katie Couric's YouTube channel of the three network evening news anchors making the morning rounds last week. With a special bonus from the make-up room, one minute in. Oy.

ABC's World News with Charles Gibson and NBC's Nightly News with Brian Williams finished within 60,000 viewers of each other in the A25-54 demo last week, and even closer in Total Viewers. The week mirrors the entire recent history between the two programs, tightly locked in a battle for evening news supremacy.

"We are certainly not on cruise control," says Nightly News EP Alexandra Wallace. "We spend a lot of time thinking about what we want to put in our 22 minutes, so in that regard I think competition is good. I want to win."

World News EP Jon Banner enjoys the competition as well. "We all benefit when it's a hard fought race," he tells TVNewser. "I think it keeps us on our toes and pushes you to do the best every day."

For the 2008 calendar year, NBC has won in Total Viewers 15 weeks, compared to five for ABC (with one tie). In the A25-54 demo, NBC has won 11 weeks while ABC has won eight (with two ties).

"I don't dispute its a close race, but we are proud of what we do every night. I feel like the tide has turned in our direction, and we certainly are winning most weeks," says Wallace.

"In essence it's a tie ballgame going to extra innings," Banner says. "I think, unlike the democratic race which is close to coming to an end, this trading wins will go back and forth for quite some time."

Banner says whoever is in first, the interest in the ratings battle is good for a style of news thought by some to be losing relevance. "Attention on the two programs is good. Any attention on the evening news is good for everybody," he says.

The San Diego Union-Tribune's Karla Peterson talks with network newsers about the state of evening newscast.

The 'Today' show said goodbye to Katie Couric two years ago yesterday in a televised bash designed to reduce the departing host to tears. Couric didn't cry then, but as the ratings for her 'CBS Evening News' broadcast continue to drop, she has plenty of reasons to cry now. And plenty of company to cry with.

Actually, she did cry. But I digress. Peterson also talked with CBS News & Sports president Sean McManus, World News EP Jon Banner and the WaPo's Howard Kurtz about the continued fractionalization of the audience and the challenge of drawing and keeping younger viewers. Still, in San Diego, the nation's 27th largest market, Couric reigns:

...the much-maligned 'CBS Evening News' drew more than 6 million viewers a night last year, and with KFMB/Channel 8's popular 5 p.m. newscast as a lead-in, Couric's 6 p.m. show draws more viewers here than Gibson's, which airs at 6:30 p.m. locally, or Williams', which airs at 5:30.

The Hollywood Reporter's Paul J. Gough writes about the battle for nightly news supremacy between ABC News and NBC News, and equates it to the Democratic presidential race.

"For all intents and purposes, it's a tie ballgame," said Jonathan Banner, EP of the ABC's World News with Charles Gibson. "It's a very competitive race."

Nightly News with Brian Williams EP Alexandra Wallace talks in political terms as well. "We've won the popular vote — but you're right, we're in the same neighborhood," she said.

So far this calendar year, ABC and NBC have each won the A25-54 demo seven times for the week, while NBC has won in Total Viewers 11 times compared to three for ABC.

"It has been this way all season, and it doesn't look like it's going to change much anytime soon," Gough writes.