Unlike in past years, there will be no down-to-the-wire finish for this May sweeps. This year Fox has taken a commanding lead and continues to build on it with just eight nights left.

Last night the network averaged a 9.9 adults 18-49 overnight rating for its combination of “American Idol” and “House,” 15 percent better than the 8.6 the two shows averaged on the same night last year.

That will boost Fox to an even bigger lead in the May sweeps when final ratings come out later today. It is already ahead of No. 2 CBS by 0.3 with a 4.1 average rating through Monday night. ABC is third with a 3.5 average and NBC fourth at 3.1, followed by UPN and the WB at 1.2.

Last night Fox pummeled the competition on NBC and CBS. They tied for No. 2, both with a 4.2 rating, not even half of Fox’s average.

“House” accounted for much of the bounce over last year, with its 9.1 average 2.1 points ahead of last year’s 7.0 average on the same night.

Fox is the only network seeing gains over last year in May sweeps, up 5 percent. ABC is down 5 percent, NBC down 3 percent and CBS, which last year challenged eventual winner Fox for first, down 14 percent.

Fox won the night among 18-49s with a 9.9 rating and 25 share. CBS was second with a 4.1/10, NBC third with a 3.3/9, ABC fourth with a 2.2/6, Univision fifth with a 1.5/4, UPN sixth with a 0.8/2 and WB seventh with a 0.7/2.
 
Fox started the night in the lead at 8 p.m. with a 10.7 for “American Idol.” CBS was a distant second with a 3.8 for the finale of “NCIS,” followed by NBC’s 1.5 for “Will & Grace,” ABC’s 1.4 for “Celebrity Debut,” Univision’s 1.6 for “La Fea Mas Bella,” UPN’s 1.0 for a repeat of “America’s Next Top Model,” and WB’s 0.8 for a repeat of “Gilmore Girls.” 
 
At 9 p.m., Fox held onto its lead with a 9.1 for “House,” followed by CBS’s 4.3 for “The Unit,” NBC’s 3.3 for two episodes of “Scrubs,” including the season finale (3.4). ABC was fourth with a 2.2 for the first hour of the “Boston Legal” finale, Univision fifth with a 1.7 for “Barrera de Amor,” WB sixth with a 0.7 for “Pepper Dennis” and UPN seventh with a 0.6 for “Veronica Mars.”
 
At 10 p.m., NBC took over the lead with a 5.3 for the finale of “Law & Order: SVU” followed by CBS with a 4.2 for the final hour of “The Unit” finale and ABC with a 3.0 for the “Legal” finale.
 
Among households, Fox was first with 15.0/23, followed by CBS with 9.1/14, ABC with 5.3/8, NBC with 5.2/8, Univision with 1.9/3, UPN with 1.2/2 and WB with 1.1/2.