Fox's American Idol returned last week as a

Fox’s American Idol returned last week as a ratings juggernaut with its double dose of two-hour shows averaging a whopping 15.6 18-49 demo rating. The network also enjoyed a solid performance from serialized drama 24 with two, two-hour episodes that averaged a 5.8 18-49 rating, enabling Fox to pull within 0.2 of a rating point for the season 18-49 demo lead.

Clearly, what Preston Beckman, Fox evp of strategic planning and scheduling, described two months ago as the network’s “flailing cycle” has come to an end, with the network now poised to compete head-to-head with the other Big Three networks for the advertiser-friendly 18-49 demo crown.

Since Fox’s ratings low point last November, Nielsen Media Research data shows the network has increased its 18-49 demo ratings 17 percent to a 3.4,