‘Idol,’ ‘Joe’ give Fox a ratings win

A double dose of “American Idol” coupled with a top 10 finish by “Joe Millionaire” helped propel Fox to its first weekly win without the help of a big sporting event like the World Series or Super Bowl, according to figures released Tuesday by Nielsen Media Research.

Fox, which airs 15 hours of programming in prime time, versus 22 on the other major networks, also got a boost from the most-watched episode of “Malcolm in the Middle” in nearly a year, in which Lois (Jane Kaczmarek) discovers she is pregnant.

The installments of “American Idol,” which aired on KTTV on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, were the top two shows in the Los Angeles area.

CBS’ “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” weathered the reality series onslaught and finished as the most-watched program for the 13th week (out of 19) this season. CBS was in third place for the week behind NBC.

ABC was in fourth place but got good news from its spy series “Alias,” which received a bit of a bounce from its post-Super Bowl telecast, drawing its biggest audience since the season premiere.

-- John Scheibe