LOS ANGELES — The Emmy Awards telecast, delayed three weeks by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, was called off Sunday after the United States and Britain launched a military attack in Afghanistan. Whether the show would be rescheduled was unresolved.

        If this year's show is never held, it would be the first cancellation in the Emmys' 53-year history.

        “We turned on our TVs again and here it was a war action again,” said Jim Chabin, president of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, which presents the awards. “We thought this is not the time to have a celebration, as much as we wanted to do it.”

        The announcement was made as host Ellen DeGeneres was rehearsing on stage at the Shrine Auditorium. Outside, workers soon began rolling up the red carpet, removing floral displays and carting off oversized decorative statuettes.

        There were no Emmy security concerns, only questions of whether it was appropriate to stage the program under the circumstances, Chabin said.

        “It's a sacrifice we gladly make for the country,” he said. “There will be another time for another awards show.”

        The decision was made after officials with the television academy and CBS, which was to air the show, consulted with other networks and TV industry members.

        ”We are not at this point calling it a cancellation. We are looking into all the options,” said Bryce Zabel, chairman of the academy. ”We have had very little time to think about this.”

        Even if the show isn't rescheduled, Zabel said they would get the trophies to winners “even if we have to drive them over to someone's house and shake hands with them.”

        TV stars such as Dennis Franz of “NYPD Blue,” a best dramatic actor nominee, said through publicists that they agreed with the decision. He had been scheduled to make a pre-recorded tribute to New York City police officers for the telecast.

        The television industry had grappled in the weeks since the attack with the propriety of holding a celebration such as the Emmys, which would have been the first major awards show to go ahead. The Recording Academy canceled its 2nd Annual Latin Grammys, which had been scheduled the same day as the terrorist attacks.

        The Television Academy and CBS had hoped that a three-week delay from the original Emmy air date of Sept. 16, and a muted, more solemn ceremony would be seen as acceptable.

        Virtually all of the nominees and presenters had reaffirmed their willingness to take part in the ceremony after revisions were announced, including less glamour and celebration.

        Emmy organizers asked participants to cut back on red-carpet arrival fanfare and forgo showy gowns and tuxedoes in favor of business attire. Veteran newsman Walter Cronkite was invited to help set a serious tone, and the ceremony was to include tributes to heroes and victims of the attacks.

        In deference to East Coast-based nominees, part of the presentation of 27 awards was to take place in a Manhattan studio. The bicoastal Emmy broadcast was the first in more than two decades.

        Television is “small potatoes” compared to world events, CBS Television President Leslie Moonves said Sunday.

        ”It's not a day to celebrate, certainly. Not a day to go up and accept best supporting actress in a comedy,” Moonves said.

        HBO's mob drama “The Sopranos” had bids in seven categories, while NBC's White House drama “The West Wing” held six nominations. Both were up for best drama series honors.

        “The Sopranos” grabbed the most nominations in July, a total of 22, to 18 bids for “The West Wing.” But after September's creative arts ceremony, the NBC series had four Emmys in hand to one for “The Sopranos.”

        In last month's creative arts ceremony, awards were announced in categories including outstanding choreography, editing and makeup, and in the new reality series categories.

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