American Idol rocks.

So says everyone from Madison Avenue to Wall Street as U.S. television’s top show returns to the Fox network tonight. And as if the bubbliness of Paula and sarcasm of Simon were not enough to keep the TV talent competition show top of prime-time, commentators believe it could do even better than usual thanks to the ongoing Hollywood writers’ strike.

American Idol, which generally airs twice a week, averaged over 30 million viewers per episode last season and could beat those numbers this season. But it’s in advertising that it could really outperform, according to this Reuters story.  Advertising rates have soared — reaching more than $900,000 in the scatter market for a thirty second spot — as marketers look to buy time alongside one of the few guaranteed ratings winners amid the writers’ strike.

RBC Capital Markets analyst David Bank said “Idol” was one reason he’d buy up News Corp shares before the company reports quarterly earnings this season.

“Ratings success is making Fox (the) best positioned broadcast TV network to take advantage of strong scatter pricing,” Bank wrote in a research note today. “Return of American Idol (tonight) should bolster ratings against minimal original content competition due to the ongoing writer’s strike.”

 Keep an eye on:

- IAC/InterActiveCorp’s Ticketmaster has agreed to pay $265 million for TicketsNow Inc, a Web site that resells tickets to concerts and sports events - WSJ

- EMI confirms restructuring, plans to cut 2,000 jobs - Reuters

- Wireless service company Clearwire says it will offer its customers applications such as e-mail and calendar from Web search leader Google - Reuters