Nigel Lythgoe, who runs “American Idol,” is a big fan of his biggest rival, it turns out.

“What I love about #DWTS this season,” he wrote about “Dancing With the Stars,” on his Twitter page yesterday, “ is the higher standard of creative choreography due to the higher standard of dancers.

“Fabulous you guys.”

It’s unusual for the No. 1 show on TV to have such nice things to say about the No. 2 one, but Lythgoe is an ex-dancer.