Fox’s one-two punch of “American Idol” and “House” knocked out the competition again Tuesday night.

According to data from Nielsen Media Research, “Idol” posted a 9.6 rating among adults 18 to 49, with an average 25.7 million total viewers. From 9 to 10 p. m., “House” averaged an 8.5 rating in the 18-49 demo and 18.2 million viewers, a year-to-year improvement for the timeslot of 19 percent and 13 percent, respectively.

For the night, Fox averaged a 9.1 in the demo and 23.5 million viewers, easily winning each of its four half-hours.

Thanks to a healthy kickoff from “NCIS” (3.1 demo, 14.1 million total viewers), CBS averaged a 2.8 demo rating and 10.7 million viewers for the night. That helped it to edge out ABC (2.7 demo, 10.4 million viewers), despite ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” (4.2, 16.4 million) and “Boston Legal” (2.5, 10.1 million) beating CBS in their respective hours.

NBC finished deep in third place for the night, with a 1.7 demo average and 5.7 million viewers.

The CW combo of “Gilmore Girls” and “Pussycat Dolls Present” added up to a combined average of 1.7 in the demo and 3.6 million viewers for the night. Among young women 12 to 24 years old, the CW finished second to “American Idol” in the 8-9 p.m. hour and third to “House” and “Dancing” from 9 to 10 p.m.

(Editor: Horowitz)