1947–48 United States network television schedule

The 1947–48 United States network television schedule was nominally from September of 1947 to the spring of 1948, but scheduling ideas were still being worked out and did not follow modern standards.

Only NBC and DuMont had networks, 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 only slightly more than a dozen television stations were in operation at the end of 1947, about 30 more stations began broadcasting during 1948.

New fall series are highlighted in bold. 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 the series, 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) and Kraft Television Theatre (which paved the way for the many live anthology series of the early 1950s).

Few recordings of live television survive from this season. 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, and 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 as of 2016.

Fall Schedule

Sunday

Monday

• 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.

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

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.