1948–49 United States network television schedule
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The 1948–49 United States network television schedule began in September of 1948 and ended in the spring of 1949. 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.
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.
Several notable programs debuted during the season or during the preceding summer, with varying degrees of representation as kinescopes. Texaco Star Theater proved to be one of the most notable hits of the season, and was credited with encouraging many people to buy their first television set. The 1948 episodes of the show are lost, but many of the 1949 episodes are still extant. 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 survive. The Morey Amsterdam Show, which debuted in December, while not a ratings success, did introduce television audiences to Art Carney who played one of the main characters. In his book The Forgotten Network, David Weinstein noted similarities between Carney's "Charlie the Doorman" character and his later role as Ed Norton on Cavalcade of Stars and The Honeymooners. Four of the CBS episodes of The Morey Amsterdam Show are held by the UCLA Film and Television Archive. Toast of the Town, re-titled The Ed Sullivan Show in 1955, debuted in the summer of 1948, and would prove popular enough to run to 1971.
Contents
Fall Schedule
Sunday
| Network | 7:00 PM | 7:30 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Local | The Southernaires Quartet | Hollywood Screen Test | Actors Studio | Local | |||
| CBS | 7:00 The Week in Review / 7:15 Local | Ford Television Theatre Hour (monthly) | Local | Toast of the Town | 10:00 America Speaks / 10:15 Local | Local | ||
| NBC | 7:00 Mary Kay and Johnny / 7:20 Review of the Week | Admiral Presents the Five Star Revue — Welcome Aboard | Author Meets the Critics | Meet the Press | The Philco Television Playhouse | Local | ||
| DMN | The Original Amateur Hour | Local | ||||||
Note: The Ed Sullivan Show, AKA Toast of the Town, premiered June 20, 1948 at 9:00 p.m. on CBS.
Monday
| Network | 7:00 PM | 7:30 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | 7:00 News and Views (Aug.) / 7:15 Local | Kiernan's Corner (Aug.) | Quizzing the News (Aug.) | Local | ||||
| CBS | 7:00 Local / 7:15 Places Please (Aug.) | 7:30 CBS Television News / 7:45 Face the Music | Local | |||||
| NBC | Local | 7:30 America Song / 7:50 Camel Newsreel Theatre | The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre | Americana | 9:00 Local / 9:10 Boxing From St. Nicholas Arena | |||
| DMN | Doorway to Fame | 7:30 Camera Headlines / 7:45 Local | 8:00 Champagne and Orchids / 8:15 Local | Local | Court of Current Issues | Local | ||
Tuesday
| Network | 7:00 PM | 7:30 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | 7:00 News and Views (Aug.) / 7:15 Local | Movieland Quiz (Aug.) | Local | America's Town Meeting | Local | |||
| CBS | 7:00 The Roar of the Rails / 7:15 Local | 7:30 CBS Television News / 7:45 Face the Music | Local | We, the People (June) | People's Platform (Aug.) | Local | ||
| NBC | Local | 7:30 Musical Miniatures / 7:50 Camel Newsreel Theatre | Texaco Star Theater | Mary Margaret McBride | Local | Wrestling From St. Nicholas Arena | ||
| DMN | 7:00 The Alan Dale Show / 7:15 Local | 7:30 Camera Headlines / 7:45 I.N.S. Telenews | Operation Success | Local | Boxing From Jamaica Arena | |||
Wednesday
| Network | 7:00 PM | 7:30 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | 7:00 News and Views (Aug.) / 7:15 Local | Critic at Large (Aug.) | The Gay Nineties Revue (Aug.) | 8:30 Candid Microphone (Aug.) / 8:45 Three About Town (Aug.) | Local | Wrestling From Washington, D.C. (Aug.) | ||
| CBS | 7:00 Local / 7:15 Places Please (Aug.) | 7:30 CBS Television News / 7:45 Face the Music | Kobbs' Korner | Winner Take All | Tournament of Champions[disambiguation needed] | |||
| NBC | Local | 7:30 You Are an Artist / 7:50 Camel Newsreel Theatre | Girl About Town / Picture This | 8:30 The Ted Steele Show / 8:45 Story of the Week | Kraft Television Theatre | 10:00 Local / 10:10 Village Barn | ||
| DMN | Birthday Party | 7:30 Camera Headlines / 7:45 Local | The Laytons | The Growing Paynes | Boxing From Jamaica Arena | |||
- The Laytons only lasted 10 episodes, from August 11 to October 13, 1948.
- Picture This, hosted by Wendy Barrie, aired November 17, 1948 to February 9, 1949
Thursday
| Network | 7:00 PM | 7:30 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | 7:00 News and Views (Aug.) / 7:15 Local | Local | Club Seven (Aug.) | ABC Feature Film | Local | |||
| CBS | Local | 7:30 CBS Television News / 7:45 Face the Music | To the Queen's Taste | Local | ||||
| NBC | Local | 7:30 NBC Presents / 7:45 Girl of the Week / 7:50 Camel Newsreel Theatre | 8:00 Princess Sagaphi / 8:15 The Nature of Things | The Swift Show | The Gulf Road Show Starring Bob Smith | The Bigelow Show | Local | |
| DMN | The Adventures of Oky Doky | 7:30 Camera Headlines / 7:45 The Jack Eigen Show | Local | Charade Quiz | Wrestling From Columbia Park Arena | |||
Friday
| Network | 7:00 PM | 7:30 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | 7:00 News and Views (Aug.) / 7:15 Local | 7:30 Tales of the Red Caboose / 7:45 Local | Teenage Book Club (Aug.) | That Reminds Me (Aug.) | Break the Bank | Local | ||
| CBS | 7:00 Local / 7:15 Places Please (Aug.) | 7:30 CBS Television News / 7:45 Face the Music | 8:00 Sportsman's Quiz / 8:05 What's It Worth | Captain Billy's Mississippi Music Hall | Local | |||
| NBC | Local | 7:30 Musical Merry-Go-Round / 7:50 Camel Newsreel Theatre | Musical Miniatures* | Stop Me If You've Heard This One | 9:00 The Ted Steele Show / 9:15 Local | 9:30 Gillette Cavalcade of Sports / 10:45 Greatest Fights of the Century | ||
| DMN | Key to the Missing | 7:30 Camera Headlines / 7:45 Local | Fashions on Parade (Aug.) | Local | Wrestling From Jamaica Arena | |||
- From April 14, 1948 to April 22, 1949, Russ Hodges' Scoreboard aired Fridays from 6:30pm to 6:45pm ET on DuMont.
- On January 21, 1949, Your Show Time replaced Musical Miniatures. 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 PM | 7:30 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | 7:00 News and Views (Aug.) / 7:15 Local | 7:30 Sports with Joe Hasel (Aug.) / 7:45 Local | Local | |||||
| CBS | Local | |||||||
| NBC | Local | Television Screen Magazine | Local | |||||
| DMN | Local | |||||||
References
- 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.
