WITH SWEEPS OVER, NETWORKS SCRAMBLE FOR NEW SHOWS.

Byline: Valerie Kuklenski Staff Writer

With the conclusion Wednesday of the November ratings period, CBS celebrated winning three major sweeps periods in a row for the first time since 1983-84, while loser ABC raised the possibility of a fall 2002 lineup without ``Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.''

NBC executives still boasted the top two series - ``Friends'' and ``ER'' - and Fox crowed about finishing the month in a first-place tie with NBC for the highly valued adult 18-to-49 audience.

ABC, fourth in household ratings and key adult demographics, had already licked its wounds and is looking down a long road toward recovery. Stuart Bloomberg and Lloyd Braun, co-chairs of ABC Entertainment Television Group, said they are putting some unscripted projects aside and investing more heavily in comedy and drama development.

``We're going to go back to what made ABC great,'' Braun said. ``We need to rebuild the network on scripted programming.''

It was far from an ordinary sweeps month. The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks delayed the premieres of some series, including Fox's CIA drama ``24,'' prolonged the Major League Baseball season enough to land the seventh game of the World Series on Nov. 4 and led CBS to put off the Primetime Emmy Awards from Sept. 16 to that same November Sunday night.

Aside from those factors, ABC reaped the results of relying too heavily on ``Millionaire,'' the quiz show phenomenon that spawned other prime-time contests but seems to be losing its legs. Its numbers are down by half from last season.

``As you know, one year ago we were No. 1 in adults 18-49 and had four shows in the top 10,'' Braun said. ``Unfortunately, all four of those shows were 'Millionaire.'''

He said he ``cannot say with certainty that `Millionaire' will be on our fall schedule.'' ``Millionaire,'' produced under the Disney corporate umbrella, is expected to be in syndication next fall regardless of its future with the network.

Jack Sander, president of Belo Television Group, which owns several stations with varying affiliations, said ABC will not bounce back easily. ``There doesn't seem to be anything on the horizon to turn that ship around,'' he said.

The buzz term Wednesday was ``comfort food,'' referring to the familiar programming that seems to have provided a sense of security for viewers since Sept. 11. That perception was affirmed earlier this week when ``The Carol Burnett Show: Show Stoppers,'' a compilation of favorite sketches and outtakes from the 1967-78 variety show, drew almost 30 million viewers to CBS Monday night.

``It was a return to good old-fashioned comedy,'' said Leslie Moonves, CBS president and CEO. ``It was like welcoming old friends back into your house.''

Chiefs of NBC, CBS and ABC said they were returning to their vaults to consider ways to resurrect old franchises in clip shows or blooper compilations. Fox, with just 15 years of history compared with the other networks' half-century, is more likely to dwell on the present and future.

Gail Berman, president of Fox Entertainment, said the serialized drama ``24'' will attempt to build audience loyalty by airing episodes twice in the same week, on Tuesdays and Fridays, to allow viewers more opportunities to stay caught up with its suspenseful story. Fox has ordered the series' remaining 11 episodes.

Berman also announced that an hourlong ``Malcolm in the Middle'' will air Feb. 3 after the Super Bowl, and that singer Jon Bon Jovi will join the cast of ``Ally McBeal'' for a few weeks beginning in January as a love interest for Calista Flockhart's title role.

The reality or ``alternative'' genre has taken a hit in the ratings this fall, with ABC's ``The Mole II'' burrowing underground and NBC's ``Lost'' getting, well, lost. But the executives said the genre is far from dead. NBC Entertainment president Jeff Zucker said ``The Weakest Link'' is assured a position next fall and ``Fear Factor'' will be back in January.

And CBS' Moonves noted that ``Survivor: Africa,'' the third in the series, is sixth in the ratings and predicted the franchise could run up to 20 adventures.

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Despite appearances by stars like Shannon Elizabeth, ABC's ``Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'' is suffering in the ratings. Reports say the network's confidence in the game show has cooled.