• by Wayne Friedman , April 19, 2007

Fox's tag team of "American Idol" and "House" continues to dominate Tuesdays. If there is a chink in the "Idol" armor, it comes from its 10% to 12% lower ratings, versus its effort against the same episode of a year ago. "Idol" earned a 9.9 rating/27 share among adults 18-49 viewers.

The better news for Fox is its still ascending show, "House," which nearly matched "Idol" numbers, earning a 9.1/22 in 18-49. Plus, the "House" that Hugh Laurie built was closer to "Idol" on the younger demos, adults 18-34, where it earned a 8.4 rating, compared to the 8.5 from "Idol."

All this overwhelmed the rest of the network lineup on Tuesday night, with Fox earning a 9.5/25.

ABC was a distant second 3.1/8. Its best effort was with "Dancing with the Stars," which earned a 4.1/10 at 9 p.m. in 18-49, way behind "House." At 10 p.m., ABC's news show "Primetime," focusing on the Virginia Tech shootings, earned a 3.5/10.

CBS was next with a 2.2/6. Against such heavyweight shows, the network, offered repeats, including "NCIS," its best effort with a 2.4/7. Univision came through in fourth place with a 1.9/5, beating out NBC, which was just behind, with a 1.8/5. NBC also laid low; its best was a repeat of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," which pulled down a 2.3/6.

While CW was last with a 1.6/4 among 18-49 viewers, it scored well in its prime demographics with younger demos. An original episode of "Gilmore Girls" pulled in a 2.0/6 among 18-34, which bested ABC, CBS and NBC.