1947 in American television 1948 in American television

List of American television programs currently in production

Morning: 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50

Daytime/afternoon: 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50

Prime time: 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50

Late night: 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50

Overnight: 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50

The 1947–48 United States network television schedule was nominally from September 1947 to March 1948, but scheduling ideas were still being worked out and did not follow modern standards. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1946–47 season.

Only NBC and DuMont had networks until CBS joined in May 1948, and coaxial cable connections were only available for a few cities on the East Coast. Most other parts of the United States created local shows or broadcast film programs.

Although fewer than twenty television stations were in operation at the end of 1947, more than 30 began broadcasting in 1948.

New series and those making their network debuts are highlighted in bold, while series that ended during the season are highlighted in italics. However, as network programming was still in its infancy and in a state of flux, all the new fall series below for this season began in November and December. A midseason replacement, DuMont's The Original Amateur Hour, first aired Sunday, January 18, 1948, was the most popular series of the 1947–48 television season. ^[1]

Although television was still in its infancy, several notable series debuted during this season, particularly Mary Kay and Johnny (first sitcom to be broadcast on network television in the US, and likely the world's second television sitcom after British series Pinwright's Progress), Texaco Star Theatre (the variety show that made Milton Berle TV's first star) and The Ed Sullivan Show (which would run until 1971, with performances by Elvis Presley and The Beatles being among the highest-viewed moments in American television history).

Few recordings of live television from this season were preserved. Among the surviving kinescopes are six episodes of Kraft Television Theatre from 1948 (March 3, March 17, March 24, March 31, April 21, and May 5) held by the Library of Congress, ^{[2] [3] [4] [5] [6]} an episode of Eye Witness from February 26, 1948, two episodes of The Swift Show from 1948 (May 13 and May 27) held by the UCLA Film and Television Archive, ^{[7] [8] [9]} and an episode of NBC Symphony Orchestra with Arturo Toscanini from March 20, 1948, held by the Paley Center for Media. ^[10]

One series that debuted during this season, Meet the Press, continues to air on NBC celebrating its seventy years as of 2017.

Legend

Schedule

Sunday

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	Spring	Local programming		Hollywood Screen Test	Local programming
CBS	Summer	Local programming				Toast of the Town		Local programming
DMN	Fall	Local programming
	Winter	The Original Amateur Hour		Local programming
NBC		Local programming		Television Playhouse / Various specials				Local programming

Notes: The Original Amateur Hour ran Sundays on DuMont beginning on January 18, 1948.

CBS began broadcasting as a network in May 1948 and premiered Toast of the Town, better known as The Ed Sullivan Show, on June 20, 1948.

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	August	(7:00) News and Views (7:15) Local Programming	Kiernan's Corner	Quizzing the News	Local Programming
CBS	Late Spring	Local programming	(7:30) CBS Television News (7:45) Face the Music	Local Programming
	August	(7:00) Local programming (7:15) Places Please
DMN	Fall	Small Fry Club	Doorway to Fame	Local programming		Boxing from Jamaica Arena
	Winter		(7:30) Camera Headlines (7:45) Local programming
NBC	Fall	Local programming		(8:00) Local programming (8:10) Americana (8:40) Local programming		(9:00) The Esso Newsreel (9:10) Boxing from St. Nicholas Arena
	Spring	Local programming	America Song

* The Walter Compton News aired on DuMont Monday through Friday from 6:45 to 7pm ET beginning on June 16 on WTTG and on August 25 on the DuMont network. In January 1948, Camera Headlines replaced The Walter Compton News and Look Upon a Star, airing Monday through Friday at 7:30pm ET, with I.N.S. Telenews following at 7:45pm ET on Tuesdays only.
** During the winter of 1948, The Esso Newsreel was replaced by the NBC Television Newsreel, which ran from Monday to Friday at 7:50, soon becoming the Camel Newsreel Theatre. America Song aired Mondays from 7:30 to 7:50 beginning in April.
*** During the late spring of 1948, CBS premiered the CBS Television News, running weekdays at 7:30, followed by Face the Music from 7:45 to 8:00.
**** Village Barn aired from 9:10 to 10:00 on NBC beginning in May.

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.	10:30 p.m.
ABC	August	(7:00) News and Views (7:15) Local programming	Movieland Quiz	Local programming
CBS	Late Spring	Local programming	(7:30) CBS Television News (7:45) Face the Music	Local programming
	Early Summer			Local programming		We the People	Local programming
	August						People's Platform	Local programming
DMN	Fall	Small Fry Club	Highway to the Stars	Western movie		(9:00) Mary Kay and Johnny (9:15) Local programming	Local programming
	October		Look Upon a Star
	Winter		(7:30) Camera Headlines (7:45) I.N.S. Telenews
NBC	Fall	Local programming
	Summer	MLB on NBC	Major League Baseball (continued to game completion)

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.	10:30 p.m.
ABC	August	(7:00) News and Views (7:15) Local Programming	Critic at Large	The Gay Nineties Revue	(8:30) Candid Microphone (8:45) Three About Town	Local Programming	Wrestling From Washington, D.C.
CBS	Late Spring	Local programming	(7:30) CBS Television News (7:45) Face the Music	Local programming
	July			Local programming	Winner Take All	Local programming
DMN	Fall	Small Fry Club	Local programming
	Winter		Local programming			Court of Current Issues	Local programming
NBC		Local programming	Kraft Television Theatre		(8:30) In the Kelvinator Kitchen (8:45) Local programming	Local programming

* Winner Take All premiered on CBS in July.

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.	10:30 p.m.
ABC	August	(7:00) News and Views (7:15) Local Programming	Local Programming		Club Seven	Local Programming
CBS	Late Spring	Local programming	(7:30) CBS Television News (7:45) Face the Music	Local programming
	Early Summer			To the Queen's Taste	Local programming
DMN	Fall	Small Fry Club	King Cole's Birthday Party	Local programming	Charade Quiz	Local programming
	Winter	King Cole's Birthday Party
NBC		Local programming	(7:30) Local programming (7:50) The Esso Newsreel	Meet the Press	Musical Merry-Go-Round	(9:00) You Are an Artist (9:15) Local programming	Juvenile Jury	Local programming

Notes: On CBS, To the Queen's Taste began airing during the late spring or early summer of 1948.

On DuMont, King Cole's Birthday Party also was known simply as Birthday Party. It debuted on May 15, 1947, on DuMont's New York City station, WABD and by early 1948 was carried by the entire network. The date on which it switched from a New York-only broadcast to a network-wide one is unclear.

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.	10:00 p.m.	10:30 p.m.
ABC	August	(7:00) News and Views (7:15) Local Programming	Local Programming	Teenage Book Club	That Reminds Me	Local Programming
CBS	Late Spring	Local programming	(7:30) CBS Television News (7:45) Face the Music	(8:00) Sportsman's Quiz (8:05) What's It Worth	Local programming
	August	(7:00) Local Programming (7:15) Places Please
DMN		Small Fry Club	Local programming
NBC	Fall	Local programming		(8:00) Campus Hoopla (8:15) The World in Your Home	Local programming		Boxing from Madison Square Garden
	Spring				Stop Me If You've Heard This One	Local programming

* Sportsman's Quiz and What's It Worth premiered on CBS during the late spring.

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.	10:30 p.m.
ABC	August	(7:00) News and Views (7:15) Local programming	(7:30) Sports with Joe Hasel (7:45) Local programming	Local programming
NBC		Local programming			Television Screen Magazine	Local programming

By network

ABC

CBS

DuMont

NBC

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

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.