As expected, ABC wrapped up its third straight November sweeps win on Wednesday, boosted by the finale of “Dancing with the Stars” and a huge turnout for the new special “Shrek the Halls.”

But the real story of sweeps was Fox, the only network to see gains over last year among adults 18-49 despite finishing fourth. With a combination of strong returning shows and a couple promising new ones, Fox even won the sweeps period among adults 18-34 for the first time since 2001 and put an end to its traditional fall slump.

All the other networks saw declines during sweeps among adults 18-49. ABC finished with a 3.7 rating and 10 share, according to Nielsen, down 8 percent from last year. The network notes, however, that this year Nielsen’s sample of time-shifting DVR households has more than doubled.

CBS took second at 3.4/9, also off 8 percent from 2006, while NBC was third at 3.2/9, down 14 percent. Fox was fourth at 3.1/8, up 3 percent from last year, and CW fifth at 1.1, down 27 percent from last year.

Fox now seems headed for its fourth consecutive yearly win among 18-49s, and perhaps its most convincing one to date. With its solid fall performance, the network will not have to climb out of its usually deep fall hole.

Last year at this time, the gap between Fox and season leader ABC was 1.1 points. It took Fox until the spring to close that gap.

This year, Fox has closed the gap to just 0.4. Its season average is up 13 percent, from a 3.0 to a 3.4, while ABC’s has fallen 7 percent, from a 4.1 to a 3.8.

In fact, with “American Idol” expected to draw huge numbers once again when it returns in January, and with Fox airing February’s Super Bowl, the network could well take over No. 1 by February sweeps.

Media people say Fox is also in the best shape to weather the current writers’ strike, because of “Idol” and a number of stockpiled scripted series, including the highly anticipated “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles,” set to premiere at midseason.

Fox’s fall was powered mainly by stronger ratings for returning shows, including “House,” which is showing big year-to-year gains for the third straight fall, “Bones,” “The Simpsons” and “Family Guy.”

But it also has two new series, “Kitchen Nightmares” and “Back to You,” that, while not exactly hits, have shown promising growth.

Meanwhile, ABC and CBS tied for first during sweeps among adults 25-54. CBS took first among total viewers, though it was down 7 percent from last year. ABC was flat in second place, despite not airing hit show “Lost” this fall, while NBC was down 18 percent in third and Fox up 8 percent in fourth.