1946–47 United States network television schedule
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The 1946–47 United States network television schedule was nominally from September 1946 to March 1947, but scheduling ideas were still being worked out and did not follow modern standards. This was the first "network television season" in the United States, and only NBC and DuMont operated networks. CBS only operated one television station, WCBS, and had yet to send out its programs to areas other than New York City. Additionally, several other companies—including Mutual,
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, and
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
—had plans to enter the medium over the next few years. Although experimental broadcasting had begun in the 1930s and television stations had been commercially licensed beginning in
1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...
, it was not until 1946 that
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connections allowed stations to share the same program schedules. Even then, only a few cities on the
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were connected. Notable series on the schedule included the first network TV soap opera, ''
Faraway Hill ''Faraway Hill'' was the first soap opera broadcast on an American television network, airing on the DuMont Television Network on Wednesday nights at 9:00 PM between October 2 and December 18, 1946. A ''Variety'' article stated the Caples advertis ...
''; the poorly-received but ambitious variety series, ''
Hour Glass An hourglass (or sandglass, sand timer, sand clock or egg timer) is a device used to measure the passage of time. It comprises two glass bulbs connected vertically by a narrow neck that allows a regulated flow of a substance (historically sand) ...
''; the first network-televised game show, '' Cash and Carry'' (prior game shows had been single-station only); and the anthology series ''
Kraft Television Theatre ''Kraft Television Theatre'' is an American anthology drama television series running from 1947 to 1958. It began May 7, 1947 on NBC, airing at 7:30pm on Wednesday evenings until December of that year. It first promoted MacLaren's Imperial Chees ...
'', which ran until 1958. Few broadcasts made during this season exist in any archive, but segments of ''
Campus Hoopla ''Campus Hoopla'' is an American game show that ran on the NBC Television network from December 27, 1946, until it ended on December 12, 1947. Format The show was centered on a group of teenagers ("complete with 'cheerleaders' and 'students'") in ...
'' dating from 1947 exist in the Hubert Chain Collection of the earliest kinescopes still in existence, as preserved in the Library of Congress (Moving Image Collection). Audio recordings of live TV broadcasts of this show are also on file at the Library of Congress from the 1946–47 period, as recorded from WNBT-TV in New York (NBC's original flagship station in New York City, today's
WNBC-TV WNBC (channel 4) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Linden, New Jersey–licensed Telemundo station WN ...
). New series and those that made their network debuts during the season are highlighted in bold. Series ending are highlighted in ''italics''.


Legend


Sunday

* Beginning in December 1946 on
WNBT-TV WNBC (channel 4) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Linden, New Jersey–licensed Telemundo station WN ...
, and then on January 5, 1947, on the NBC Network, ''
Bristol-Myers Tele-Varieties ''Bristol-Myers Tele-Varieties'' is a TV series broadcast locally in New York beginning in December 1946, and then began broadcasting on the NBC Television Network on January 5, 1947, on Sunday evenings from 8:15 to 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time. The ...
'', hosted by Jinx Falkenburg and Tex McCrary, aired Sundays from 8:15 to 8:30pm ET.


Monday


Tuesday


Wednesday


Thursday

Note: On DuMont, ''
King Cole's Birthday Party ''King Cole's Birthday Party'' (also known as ''Birthday Party'') was an early American children's television series which aired on the DuMont Television Network. The program was broadcast from May 15, 1947, to June 23, 1949. Little is known abo ...
'' was also known simply as ''Birthday Party''. It debuted on Dumont's New York City station,
WABD WABD (97.5 FM) is an American radio station licensed to serve the community of Mobile, Alabama. The station, established in 1973 as WABB-FM, is owned and operated by Cumulus Media. Its studios are on Dauphin Street in Midtown Mobile, and its ...
on May 15, 1947. By early 1948 it was carried on the entire network, but the date it switched from a New York-only to a complete network broadcast is unclear.


Friday


By network

''Some of the series below are not shown on the schedule as the day and time these aired are not currently known.''


Du Mont

Returning series *'' Boxing from Jamaica Arena'' *'' Cash and Carry'' *''Magic Carpet'' *''Melody Bar Ranch'' *''Vera Massey Show'' * Western movie New series/network debuts *'' Doorway to Fame'' * *''
Faraway Hill ''Faraway Hill'' was the first soap opera broadcast on an American television network, airing on the DuMont Television Network on Wednesday nights at 9:00 PM between October 2 and December 18, 1946. A ''Variety'' article stated the Caples advertis ...
'' *''
King Cole's Birthday Party ''King Cole's Birthday Party'' (also known as ''Birthday Party'') was an early American children's television series which aired on the DuMont Television Network. The program was broadcast from May 15, 1947, to June 23, 1949. Little is known abo ...
'' * *'' Movies for Small Fry'' * *'' Play the Game'' *''
Serving Through Science ''Serving Through Science'' was "the first regular science-related network series" and the first educational television series broadcast in the United States. The series premiered on the DuMont Television Network in May 1945, and was shown Tuesda ...
''


NBC

Returning Series *'' Duffy's Tavern'' *'' The Esso Newsreel'' *'' Face to Face'' *''
Hour Glass An hourglass (or sandglass, sand timer, sand clock or egg timer) is a device used to measure the passage of time. It comprises two glass bulbs connected vertically by a narrow neck that allows a regulated flow of a substance (historically sand) ...
'' *''
I Love to Eat ''I Love to Eat'' was a live television series on NBC that aired from August 30, 1946 to May 18, 1947, and was a cooking show hosted by chef and cookbook author James Beard. The show is notable for having been the first network television cooking ...
'' *''In Town Today'' *'' NFL Football Magazine'' *'' Television Quarterback'' *'' Voice of Firestone Televues'' *''
The World in Your Home ''The World in Your Home'' is an NBC Television TV series which aired from December 22, 1944 to 1948, originally broadcast on WNBT, NBC's New York flagship, then broadcast on NBC-affiliate stations WRGB in New York's Capital District and WPTZ in ...
'' New series/Network debuts *''The Borden Show'' * *'' Boxing from Madison Square Garden'' *'' Boxing from St. Nicholas Arena'' *''
Bristol-Myers Tele-Varieties ''Bristol-Myers Tele-Varieties'' is a TV series broadcast locally in New York beginning in December 1946, and then began broadcasting on the NBC Television Network on January 5, 1947, on Sunday evenings from 8:15 to 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time. The ...
'' * *''Broadway Previews'' *''
Campus Hoopla ''Campus Hoopla'' is an American game show that ran on the NBC Television network from December 27, 1946, until it ended on December 12, 1947. Format The show was centered on a group of teenagers ("complete with 'cheerleaders' and 'students'") in ...
'' * *''
Geographically Speaking ''Geographically Speaking'' was an American travel series that debuted on June 9, 1946, on NBC, and aired Sundays at 8:15 pm EST immediately following the game show '' Face to Face''. Originating at WNBT-TV in New York City, the weekly 15-minute ...
'' *''
Hour Glass An hourglass (or sandglass, sand timer, sand clock or egg timer) is a device used to measure the passage of time. It comprises two glass bulbs connected vertically by a narrow neck that allows a regulated flow of a substance (historically sand) ...
'' * *''
In the Kelvinator Kitchen ''In the Kelvinator Kitchen'' was an NBC Television Network series which aired from 21 May 1947 to 30 June 1948.Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle (1979). ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows: 1946-Present''. Ballantine Books. . P. 284. ...
'' * *''
Juvenile Jury ''Juvenile Jury'' was an American children's game show that originally ran on NBC from April 3, 1947, to August 1, 1954. It was hosted by Jack Barry and featured a panel of children aged ten or less giving advice to solve the problems of other chi ...
'' * *''
Kraft Television Theatre ''Kraft Television Theatre'' is an American anthology drama television series running from 1947 to 1958. It began May 7, 1947 on NBC, airing at 7:30pm on Wednesday evenings until December of that year. It first promoted MacLaren's Imperial Chees ...
'' * *''
Let's Rhumba ''Let's Rhumba'' was an American Latin dance instruction program that aired on NBC from November 15, 1946, to January 17, 1947. Each 15-minute episode was hosted by D'Avalos. No episodes are known to survive as NBC had no archival policy at the ...
'' *''
Musical Merry-Go-Round ''Musical Merry-Go-Round'' is an NBC TV series which aired from July 25, 1947, to 1949. The series featured live music performances. Production history Each 30-minute episode was hosted by Jack Kilty, "who sat in front of the camera and played rec ...
'' * *''NBC Television Theatre'' *''
Television Screen Magazine ''Television Screen Magazine'', also known as ''TV Screen Magazine'', is an NBC Television Network series which debuted 17 November 1946, airing Sundays at 8:30 p.m. ET, and ended on July 23, 1949. Participants Hosts and panelists included ...
'' *''
You Are an Artist ''You Are an Artist'' is a television series, which first aired on NBC flagship station WNBT-TV in New York City and "a small network of stations on the East Coast" on May 13, 1946, and then continued on the NBC Television network until 1950. Vers ...
'' 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. . * Castleman, H. & Podrazik, W. (1982). ''Watching TV: Four Decades of American Television''. New York: McGraw-Hill. 314 pp. * Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earl (1979). ''The complete directory to prime-time network TV shows 1946–present.'' New York: Ballantine Books. . {{DEFAULTSORT:1946-47 United States network television schedule United States primetime network television schedules United States Network Television Schedule, 1946-47 United States Network Television Schedule, 1946-47