1948–49 United States network television schedule

The 1948–49 network television schedule for the four major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1948 through March 1949. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1947–48 season. This was the first season in which all four networks then in operation in the United States offered nightly prime time schedules Monday through Friday.^[1]^[2]

The schedule below reflects the fall lineup as it all settled into place throughout October 1948, before any subsequent time changes were made and additional new series appeared in November.

New fall series are highlighted in bold. A number of ABC's new fall shows began as early as mid-August when the network first began broadcasting a seven-night schedule. CBS and DuMont also had some new shows begin in the latter half of August. These shows are noted as such by (Aug.). NBC began airing Saturday Night Jamboree in December.^[3]^[4]

Several notable programs debuted during the season and within the preceding summer. The preservation of these telecasts on kinescope film vary. The Texaco Star Theater proved to be one of the most notable hits of the year with its host, Milton Berle, credited with encouraging consumers to purchase their first television set. The 1948 episodes of the Berle show are missing, but many of the 1949 episodes still exist. A short-lived series, The Laytons, was the first network television sitcom to feature an African-American in a regular supporting role, albeit a stereotypical one. No episodes have survived. The Morey Amsterdam Show, which debuted on CBS in December, introduced television audiences to Art Carney as a lead cast member. In the David Weinstein book, The Forgotten Network, similarities between Carney's role as "Charlie the Doorman" and his later Ed Norton from Cavalcade of Stars and The Honeymooners are noted. The Morey Amsterdam Show was not a ratings success. Four episodes are held by the UCLA Film and Television Archive. Toast of the Town, debuting in June 1948 and re-titled The Ed Sullivan Show in 1955 and a mainstay of Sunday night viewing, became one of the most successful and long-running programs in American television history. It would remain on the air until 1971. The premiere episode with composers Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II and the comedy team of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis are among the few missing telecasts.

Legend

Light blue indicates local programming.
Dark blue indicates news programming.
Light green indicates sporting events.
Light purple indicates movies.

Sunday

Network	7:00 p.m.	7:30 p.m.	8:00 p.m.	8:30 p.m.	9:00 p.m.	10:00 p.m.	10:30 p.m.
ABC	Local programming	The Southernaires Quartet	Hollywood Screen Test	Actors Studio	Local programming
CBS	(7:00 p.m.) The Week in Review (7:15 p.m.) Local programming	Ford Television Theatre Hour (monthly)		Local programming	Toast of the Town	(10:00 p.m.) America Speaks (10:15 p.m.) Local programming	Local programming
DMN	The Original Amateur Hour		Local programming
NBC	(7:00 p.m.) Mary Kay and Johnny (7:20 p.m.) Review of the Week	Admiral Presents the Five Star Revue — Welcome Aboard	Author Meets the Critics	Meet the Press	The Philco Television Playhouse	Local programming

Notes: Toast of the Town, later known as The Ed Sullivan Show, premiered June 20, 1948, at 9:00 p.m. on CBS.

On DuMont, King Cole's Birthday Party, also known as simply Birthday Party, aired from 6:00 to 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time from March to May 1949.

Monday

Network	7:00 p.m.	7:30 p.m.	8:00 p.m.	8:30 p.m.	9:00 p.m.	9:30 p.m.	10:00 p.m.	10:30 p.m.
ABC		(7:00 p.m.) News and Views (7:15 p.m.) Local Programming	Kiernan's Corner	Quizzing the News	Local Programming
CBS		(7:00 p.m.) Local Programming (7:15 p.m.) Places Please	(7:30 p.m.) CBS Television News (7:45 p.m.) Face the Music	Local programming
DMN		Doorway to Fame	(7:30 p.m.) Camera Headlines (7:45 p.m.) Local programming	(8:00 p.m.) Champagne and Orchids (8:15 p.m.) Local programming	Local programming		Court of Current Issues	Local programming
NBC	Fall	Local programming	(7:30 p.m.) America Song (7:50 p.m.) Camel Newsreel Theatre	The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre	Americana	(9:00 p.m.) Local programming (9:10 p.m.) Boxing From St. Nicholas Arena
NBC	Winter	Local programming		The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre	Colgate Theatre

Notes: Beginning July 18, 1949, The Magic Cottage aired on DuMont Monday through Friday from 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time. On NBC, Colgate Theatre premiered on January 3, 1949.

Tuesday

Network	7:00 p.m.	7:30 p.m.	8:00 p.m.	8:30 p.m.	9:00 p.m.	9:30 p.m.	10:00 p.m.
ABC	(7:00 p.m.) News and Views (7:15 p.m.) Local programming	Movieland Quiz	Local programming	America's Town Meeting		Local programming
CBS	(7:00 p.m.) The Roar of the Rails (7:15 p.m.) Local programming	(7:30 p.m.) CBS Television News (7:45 p.m.) Face the Music	Local programming		We the People	People's Platform	Local programming
DMN	(7:00 p.m.) The Alan Dale Show (7:15 p.m.) Local programming	(7:30 p.m.) Camera Headlines (7:45 p.m.) I.N.S. Telenews	Operation Success	Local programming	Boxing From Jamaica Arena
NBC	Local programming	(7:30) Musical Miniatures (7:50 p.m.) Camel Newsreel Theatre	Texaco Star Theater		Mary Margaret McBride	Local programming	Wrestling From St. Nicholas Arena

Note: Beginning July 18, 1949, The Magic Cottage aired on DuMont Monday through Friday from 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Wednesday

Network		7:00 p.m.	7:30 p.m.	8:00 p.m.	8:30 p.m.	9:00 p.m.	9:30 p.m.	10:00 p.m.
ABC		(7:00 p.m.) News and Views (7:15 p.m.) Local programming	Critic at Large	The Gay Nineties Revue	(8:30 p.m.) Candid Microphone (8:45 p.m.) Three About Town	Local programming	Wrestling From Washington, D.C.
CBS		(7:00 p.m.) Local programming (7:15 p.m.) Places Please	(7:30 p.m.) CBS Television News (7:45 p.m.) Face the Music	Kobbs' Korner	Winner Take All	Tournament of Champions
DMN	Fall	King Cole's Birthday Party	(7:30 p.m.) Camera Headlines (7:45 p.m.) Local programming	The Laytons (Aug.)	The Growing Paynes	Boxing From Jamaica Arena
	Mid-fall	King Cole's Birthday Party
	Spring
NBC	Fall	Local programming	(7:30 p.m.) You Are an Artist (7:50 p.m.) Camel Newsreel Theatre	Girl About Town	(8:30 p.m.) The Ted Steele Show (8:45 p.m.) Story of the Week	Kraft Television Theatre		(10:00 p.m.) Local programming (10:10 p.m.) Village Barn
	Mid-fall			Picture This
	Summer			Picture This	The Black Robe

Notes: On DuMont, King Cole's Birthday Party also was known as simply Birthday Party. The Laytons only lasted 10 episodes, from August 11 to October 13, 1948. Beginning July 18, 1949, The Magic Cottage aired on DuMont Monday through Friday from 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

On NBC, Picture This, hosted by Wendy Barrie, aired November 17, 1948, to February 9, 1949. The Black Robe debuted on May 18, 1949, and ran from 8:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday until it began to air at various times on Mondays during August 1949.

Thursday

Network		7:00 p.m.	7:30 p.m.	8:00 p.m.	8:30 p.m.	9:00 p.m.	9:30 p.m.	10:00 p.m.
ABC	Fall	(7:00 p.m.) News and Views (7:15 p.m.) Local programming	Local programming		Club Seven	ABC Feature Film		Local programming
	Summer		Blind Date	Local programming		ABC Feature Film
	Mid-summer			Local programming			Blind Date
CBS		Local programming	(7:30 p.m.) CBS Television News (7:45 p.m.) Face the Music	To the Queen's Taste	Local programming
DMN	Fall	The Adventures of Oky Doky	(7:30 p.m.) Camera Headlines (7:45 p.m.) The Jack Eigen Show	Local programming	Charade Quiz	Wrestling From Columbia Park Arena
DMN	Summer	King Cole's Birthday Party		Local programming	Charade Quiz	Wrestling From Columbia Park Arena
NBC		Local programming	(7:30 p.m.) NBC Presents (7:45 p.m.) Girl of the Week (7:50 p.m.) Camel Newsreel Theatre	(8:00 p.m.) Princess Sagaphi (8:15 p.m.) The Nature of Things	The Swift Show	The Gulf Road Show Starring Bob Smith	The Bigelow Show	Local programming

Notes: On ABC, Blind Date debuted on May 5, 1949, airing from 7:30 to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. It moved to 9:30 p.m. during July 1949 and aired in that time slot into September 1949.

On DuMont, King Cole's Birthday Party also was known as simply Birthday Party. Beginning July 18, 1949, The Magic Cottage aired on DuMont Monday through Friday from 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Friday

Network		7:00 p.m.	7:30 p.m.	8:00 p.m.	8:30 p.m.	9:00 p.m.	9:30 p.m.
ABC		(7:00 p.m.) News and Views (7:15 p.m.) Local programming	(7:30 p.m.) Tales of the Red Caboose (7:45 p.m.) Local programming	Teenage Book Club	That Reminds Me	Break the Bank	Local programming
CBS		(7:00 p.m.) Local programming (7:15 p.m.) Places Please	(7:30 p.m.) CBS Television News (7:45 p.m.) Face the Music	(8:00 p.m.) Sportsman's Quiz (8:05 p.m.) What's It Worth	Captain Billy's Mississippi Music Hall	Local programming
DMN		Key to the Missing	(7:30 p.m.) Camera Headlines (7:45 p.m.) Local programming	Fashions on Parade	Local programming	Wrestling From Jamaica Arena
NBC	Fall	Local programming	(7:30 p.m.) Musical Merry-Go-Round (7:50 p.m.) Camel Newsreel Theatre	Musical Miniatures	Stop Me If You've Heard This One	(9:00 p.m.) The Ted Steele Show (9:15 p.m.) Local programming	(9:30 p.m.) Gillette Cavalcade of Sports (10:45 p.m.) Greatest Fights of the Century
	Winter			Your Show Time	Stop Me If You've Heard This One
	Summer			Hopalong Cassidy

Notes: From April 14, 1948, to April 22, 1949, Russ Hodges' Scoreboard aired Fridays from 6:30pm to 6:45pm ET on DuMont. Beginning July 18, 1949, The Magic Cottage aired on DuMont Monday through Friday from 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

On NBC, Your Show Time replaced Musical Miniatures on January 21, 1949. Your Show Time had premiered on NBC's East Coast stations in September 1948, and began to include NBC's Midwest stations on January 21.

Saturday

Network		7:00 p.m.	7:30 p.m.	8:00 p.m.	8:30 p.m.	9:00 p.m.	9:30 p.m.	10:00 p.m.
ABC		(7:00 p.m.) News and Views (7:15 p.m.) Local programming	(7:30 p.m.) Sports with Joe Hasel (7:45 p.m.) Local programming	Local programming
CBS	Fall	Local programming
	Spring	Local programming	(7:30 p.m.) Local programming/ (7:45–8:00 p.m.) Blues by Bargy	Local programming
	Summer	Local programming	(7:30 p.m.) Local programming/ (7:45–7:55 p.m.) Blues by Bargy	Local programming
NBC	Fall	Local programming			Television Screen Magazine	Local programming
	Late fall	Local programming		Saturday Night Jamboree
	Winter	Local programming		Saturday Night Jamboree	Television Screen Magazine
	Spring	Local programming				Local programming	Saturday Night Jamboree	Local programming
	Summer	Local programming		Meet Your Congress		Local programming

By network

ABC

Returning Series

Hollywood Screen Test
Kiernan's Corner
Movieland Quiz
News and Views
Sports with Joe Hasel
Teenage Book Club
That Reminds Me
Quizzing the News

New Series

ABC Feature Film
ABC Television Players
Actors Studio
America's Town Meeting
Blind Date *
Bowling Headliners *
Break the Bank
Buzzy Wuzzy
Candid Microphone
Club Seven
Critic at Large
Crusade in Europe *
The Gay Nineties Revue
The Southernaires Quartet
Stand By for Crime
Tales of the Red Caboose
Three About Town
Wrestling from Washington, D.C.

CBS

Returning Series

New Series

Adventures in Jazz *
American Speaks
Arthur Godfrey and His Friends *
Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts *
Blues by Bargy *
Capital Billy's Mississippi Music Hall
Ford Television Theatre Hour
Kobbs' Korner
Lamp Unto My Feet
The Morey Amsterdam Show
Our Miss Brooks
People's Platform
Places Please
The Roar of the Rails
Ruthie on the Telephone *
The Sonny Kendis Show *
Studio One
Suspense *
Tournament of Champions
The Week in Review
Wesley

DuMont

Returning series

New series

Admiral Broadway Revue *
The Adventures of Oky Doky
The Alan Dale Show
And Everything Nice *
Boxing From Jamaica Arena
Café de Paris *
Champagne and Orchids
Fashions on Parade
Front Row Center *
The Growing Paynes
Hotel Broadway *
Johnny Olson's Rumpus Room *
The Laytons
The Magic Cottage *
Manhattan Spotlight *
Newsweek Views the News
The Original Amateur Hour
The School House *
Spin the Picture * (originally Cut)
The Stan Shaw Show
Teen Time Tunes *
The Vincent Lopez Show
Window on the World *
Wrestling From Columbia Park Arena

Not returning from 1947–48:

NBC

Returning Series

New Series

Academy Theatre *
Admiral Broadway Revue *
Admiral Presents Five Star Revue — Welcome Aboard
The Black Robe
The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre
Colgate Theatre *
Fireside Theatre *
Garroway at Large *
Girl About Town
Greatest Fight of the Century
The Gulf Road Show Starring Bob Smith
The Hartmans *
Hopalong Cassidy *
Mary Margaret McBride
NBC Presents *
The Philco Television Playhouse
Picture This
Princess Sagaphi
Saturday Night Jamboree
The Ted Steele Show
Theatre of the Mind *
Welcome Aboard *
Who Said That?
Wrestling From St. Nicholas Arena
Your Show Time *

Not returning from 1947–48:

Note: The * indicates that the program was introduced in midseason.

Bibliography

Bergmann, Ted; Skutch, Ira (2002). The DuMont Television Network: What Happened?. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-4270-X.
Castleman, H. & Podrazik, W. (1982). Watching TV: Four Decades of American Television. New York: McGraw-Hill. 314 pp.

References

^ Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (June 24, 2009). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. Random House Publishing Group. p. 1195. ISBN 978-0-307-48320-1. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
^ McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present (4th ed.). New York, New York: Penguin Books USA, Inc. p. 449. ISBN 0-14-02-4916-8.
^ NBC Yearbook, National Broadcasting Company, 1937
^ Norton, Jack (16 March 2022). Cornstars: Rube Music in Swing Time. Lulu.com. ISBN 9781458340429.

[Brooks_and_Marsh-1] Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (June 24, 2009). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. Random House Publishing Group. p. 1195. ISBN 978-0-307-48320-1. Retrieved April 4, 2023.

[2] McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present (4th ed.). New York, New York: Penguin Books USA, Inc. p. 449. ISBN 0-14-02-4916-8.

[3] NBC Yearbook, National Broadcasting Company, 1937

[4] Norton, Jack (16 March 2022). Cornstars: Rube Music in Swing Time. Lulu.com. ISBN 9781458340429.

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