For every Big Five network but Fox, February sweeps was a disaster.

With the writers’ strike severely curtailing scripted programming and one new show after another bombing, the other Big Five broadcasters saw declines of 17 to 41 percent compared with last year.

Their one consolation is that, with the strike now over, scripted programming will be returning next month to presumably give the networks a big boost heading into May. That's provided viewers come back.

Fox finished first for the four-week sweeps period that ended Wednesday with a 7.0 adults 18-49 rating and 18 share, according to Nielsen, up 30 percent over last year. Excluding the Super Bowl, Fox was down 6 percent from last year with a 5.1/13.

ABC was a very distant second with a 2.3/7, down 31 percent from last year, followed by NBC at 2.5/7, off 17 percent from last year, and CBS third at 2.3/6, down 55 percent from last year, when it carried the Super Bowl. Excluding the game, the network still saw ratings flag 41 percent.

Univision placed fifth, well ahead of the CW, at 1.6/4, though it was also off 6 percent from last year. The CW averaged a 0.9/2, down 36 percent from last year, though its target demo is slightly younger.

The declines were not unexpected, though they were perhaps a bit sharper than some had predicted, and they were largely explained by the dearth of original scripted programming.

ABC, for example, saw original scripted series hours fall by more than half compared with last year’s sweeps, and that led to losses of more than a third among the women 18-49 that the network excels with.

That also meant a diluted platform for promoting the network’s Academy Awards, which had their lowest viewership ever. But ABC did rank No. 1 on Thursday nights for the second straight February sweeps, on the strength of “Lost.”

CBS may have had the toughest sweeps of any network, sustaining the biggest hits. Not only did writers’ strike fill-in fodder like “Welcome to the Captain,” “Big Brother” and the revived “Jericho” generated low ratings, but returning shows such as “Survivor” and “The New Adventures of Old Christine” have slipped compared with last year.

In fact, many of CBS’s reruns, such as “CSI” and “Two and a Half Men,” actually outrated original fare in February.

NBC had a few successes, including “American Gladiators,” the first quarter’s No. 2 new show among adults 18-49, and the revival of “Deal or No Deal,” which posted its best ratings in months.

But it also had the month’s biggest bomb with the embarrassing debut of “quarterlife,” which was canceled yesterday after just one airing, and ratings for new shows like “Amne$ia” were unremarkable. Ratings for Thursday’s “Celebrity Apprentice” also softened noticeably once “Lost” returned opposite the reality program.

Fox had by far the best month powered by “American Idol,” and it remains the only network to see year-to-year increases. New series “Moment of Truth” and “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” show some promise, and “House” reruns rate better than originals on other networks.