“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” was 2006’s biggest box office hit, and its success is carrying into 2007 as well. With “Pirates” winning four "People’s Choice" awards, including three for star Johnny Depp, the awards show posted a solid ratings increase over last year.

The two-hour Golden Globes pre-cursor averaged a 7.6 household rating and 3.6 among adults 18-49, according to Nielsen overnights. That was up 13 percent in households over last year’s 6.7 and a 6 percent increase in 18-49s over last year’s 3.4.

Though the "People’s Choice Awards" finished second in both the 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. hour, it did so against stronger competition than last year, as Fox’s hit “House” was up an impressive 28 percent over the same night last year.

The public gets to vote on the "People’s Choice Awards," and an impressive array of stars show up to accept the prizes. In addition to Depp, last night Halle Berry, Robin Williams, Jennifer Aniston, Charlie Sheen and more were on hand to pick up awards.

The reason for the awards show’s jump seems to be in large part the continued allure of “Pirates.” As evidenced by the rise in households, the movie has been especially popular with families. The campiness of Depp’s performance appeals to parents, and kids love anything to do with pirates.

The movie didn’t receive great reviews from critics, but it has had an effect on pop culture, driving everything from increases in pirate Halloween costumes to award show ratings.

Meanwhile, “House” was all Fox needed to finish first last night among 18-49s, as back-to-back episodes lifted the network to a dominant 5.5 rating and a 14 share. NBC finished second at 3.8/10, CBS third at 3.3/9, ABC fourth at 2.1/6, Univision fifth at 1.7/5 and CW sixth at 0.8/2.
 
At 8 p.m. Fox led with a 3.7 rating for a repeat of “House.” NBC was second with a 3.0 for “Dateline,” CBS third with a 2.9 for an “NCIS” rerun and ABC fourth with a 2.6 for a repeat of “America’s Funniest Home Videos.” Univision was fifth that hour with a 2.5 for “La Fea Mas Bella” and CW sixth with a 1.1 for a repeat of “Gilmore Girls.”
 
Fox stayed on top with “House” again at 9 p.m., this time with a 7.3 for an original episode. CBS moved to second that hour with a 3.8 for the first hour of the awards, with NBC third with a 3.5 for “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” and Univision fourth with a 1.7 for “Mundo de Fieras.” ABC dropped to fifth with a 1.5 average for an hour of “Big Day” and CW remained sixth with a 0.6 for a repeat of “Veronica Mars.”
 
With Fox gone at 10 p.m., NBC led with a 5.0 rating for “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” CBS was second with a 3.3 for the second hour of the awards, ABC third with a 2.4 for “Boston Legal” and Univision fourth with a 1.1 for the behind-the-scenes special “Lo que No Vio de ‘Premios Furia Musical.’”
 
NBC finished first on a competitive night among households, leading with an 8.2 average rating and a 13 share. Fox was a close second at 8.0/12, CBS third at 7.7/12, ABC fourth at 4.6/7, Univision fifth at 2.2/3 and CW sixth at 1.4/2.