Drama gets post-Super Bowl slot next year

FOX's medical drama "House" will get an even bigger lead-in than it normally does on one night next year.

Network chief Peter Ligouri took the somewhat unusual step of announcing at FOX's upfront Thursday that "House" would get the coveted showcase after the Super Bowl next year. FOX has the rights to Super Bowl XLII, which is scheduled for Feb. 3.

Typically the network broadcasting the Super Bowl waits until partway through the season to make its post-game pick. But "House" is far and away FOX's top scripted series and could take an extra leap in airing after the year's biggest TV event.

The show, starring Hugh Laurie as a brilliant, misanthropic diagnostician, is averaging a little over 19 million viewers a week this season. It performs well on its own in the fall -- it drew 15.7 million viewers per week in the early part of this season -- and gets a big boost when it's paired with "American Idol" at midseason.

It's also the No. 2 scripted show on all of television in the key adults 18-49 demographic this season, averaging a 7.9 rating and trailing ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" by just a tenth of a point. Earlier this week "House" even beat "Idol" in the demo for the first time.

Last season "Grey's Anatomy" rode a huge post-Super Bowl airing (37.9 million viewers) to become one of the highest-rated dramas on the air. CBS' "Criminal Minds" didn't draw quite that big an audience this year but still hit a series high with 26.2 million viewers.