The 1949–50 United States network television schedule began in September of 1949 and ended in the spring of 1950. This was the first season in which all four networks offered at least some prime time programming all seven nights of the week.
The schedule below reflects the fall lineup as it all settled into place throughout October 1949, before any subsequent time changes were made and additional new series appeared in November.
New fall series are highlighted in bold.
Sunday[]
| PM | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Stained Glass Windows | ABC Penthouse Players | Think Fast | The Little Revue | Let There Be Stars | Celebrity Time | Youth on the March | |
| CBS | Tonight on Broadway | This Is Show Business | Toast of the Town | The Fred Waring Show | 10:00 The Week in Review / 10:15 Local | Local | ||
| NBC | Leave It to the Girls | The Aldrich Family | The Chesterfield Supper Club | Colgate Theatre | The Philco Television Playhouse | Garroway at Large | Local | |
| DMN | Front Row Center | Chicagoland Mystery Players | Cinema Varieties | Cross Question | Local | |||
Monday[]
| PM | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | 7:00 News and Views / 7:15 Club Seven | Author Meets the Critics | Your Witness | Photoplay Time | ABC Barn Dance | Mr. Black | Roller Derby | |
| CBS | 7:00 The Roar of the Rails / 7:15 The Paul Arnold Show | 7:30 CBS Television News / 7:45 The Sonny Kendis Show / 7:55 Ruthie on the Telephone | The Silver Theater | Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts | Candid Camera | The Goldbergs | Studio One | |
| NBC | Kukla, Fran and Ollie | 7:30 Mohawk Showroom / 7:45 Camel News Caravan | Chevrolet Tele-Theater | The Voice of Firestone | The Black Robe | Cities Service Band of America | Quiz Kids | Local |
| DMN | Captain Video and His Video Rangers | 7:30 The Vincent Lopez Show / 7:45 Manhattan Spotlight | Newsweek Views the News | The Al Morgan Show | And Everything Nice | Wrestling from Sunnyside Gardens | ||
Tuesday[]
| PM | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | 7:00 News and Views / 7:15 Club Seven | On Trail | Local | Oboler Comedy Theater | Local | Tomorrow's Boxing Champions | ||
| CBS | 7:00 Your Sports Special / 7:15 Local | 7:30 CBS Television News / 7:45 The Sonny Kendis Show / 7:55 Ruthie on the Telephone | Uptown Jubilee | Actors Studio | Suspense | 10:00 The Week in Sports / 10:15 Local | Local | |
| NBC | Kukla, Fran and Ollie | 7:30 Mohawk Showroom / 7:45 Camel News Caravan | Texaco Star Theater | Fireside Theater | The Life of Riley | The Original Amateur Hour | ||
| DMN | Captain Video and His Video Rangers | 7:30 The Vincent Lopez Show / 7:45 Manhattan Spotlight | Court of Current Issues | The O'Neills | Feature Theater | Local | ||
Wednesday[]
| PM | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | 7:00 News and Views / 7:15 Club Seven | Local | Actors Studio | Photocrime | Local | Wrestling from the Rainbo in Chicago | ||
| CBS | 7:00 Your Sports Special / 7:15 The Paul Arnold Show | 7:30 CBS Television News / 7:45 Earl Wrightson At Home | Arthur Godfrey and His Friends | The Bigelow Show | International Boxing Club Bouts | |||
| NBC | Kukla, Fran and Ollie | 7:30 Mohawk Showroom / 7:45 Camel News Caravan | The Crisis | The Clock | Kraft Television Theater | Break the Bank | Local | |
| DMN | Captain Video and His Video Rangers | 7:30 The Vincent Lopez Show / 7:45 Manhattan Spotlight | Local | The Plainclothesman | Famous Jury Trials | Local | ||
Thursday[]
| PM | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | 7:00 News and Views / 7:15 Club Seven | The Lone Ranger | Stop the Music | Crusade In Europe | Starring Boris Karloff | Roller Derby | ||
| CBS | To the Queen's Taste | 7:30 CBS Television News / 7:45 The Sonny Kendis Show / 7:55 Ruthie on the Telephone | The Front Page | Inside U.S.A. with Chevrolet | The Ed Wynn Show | Local | ||
| NBC | Kukla, Fran and Ollie | 7:30 Mohawk Showroom / 7:45 Camel News Caravan | Juvenile Jury | Mary Kay and Johnny | Fireball Fun-For-All | Martin Kane, Private Eye | Local | |
| DMN | Captain Video and His Video Rangers | 7:30 The Vincent Lopez Show / 7:45 Manhattan Spotlight | Mystery Theater | The Morey Amsterdam Show | Boxing from Sunnyside Gardens | |||
Friday[]
| PM | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | 7:00 News and Views / 7:15 Club Seven | Local | Majority Rules | Blind Date | Auction-Aire | Fun for the Money | Roller Derby | |
| CBS | 7:00 Your Sports Special / 7:15 The Paul Arnold Show | 7:30 CBS Television News / 7:45 The Sonny Kendis Show / 7:55 Ruthie on the Telephone | Mama | Man Against Crime | Ford Theatre/54th Street Revue | People's Platform | Capitol Cloak Room | |
| NBC | Kukla, Fran and Ollie | 7:30 Mohawk Showroom / 7:45 Camel News Caravan | Hopalong Cassidy | Bonny Maid Versatile Varieties | The Big Story | 10:00 Gillette Cavalcade of Sports / 10:45 Greatest Fights of the Century | ||
| DMN | Captain Video and His Video Rangers | 7:30 The Vincent Lopez Show / 7:45 Manhattan Spotlight | Hands of Murder | Broadway to Hollywood – Headline Clues | Fishing and Hunting Club | Local | Amateur Boxing Fight Club | |
Saturday[]
| PM | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | 7:00 News and Views / 7:15 Local | Hollywood Screen Test | Paul Whiteman's TV Teen Club | Local | ||||
| CBS | 6:45 Lucky Pup / 7:15 Local | 7:30 In the First Person / 7:45 Blues by Bargy / 7:55 Ruthie on the Telephone | Local | Premiere Playhouse | Local | |||
| NBC | Local | 7:30 The Nature of Things / 7:45 Leon Pearson and the News | Meet Your Congress | Mixed Doubles | Who Said That? | Meet the Press | Local | |
| DMN | Captain Video and His Video Rangers | Local | Spin the Picture | Cavalcade of Stars | Wrestling from the Marigold in Chicago | |||
In the half-hour preceding prime time, ABC aired one of the first television westerns, The Marshal of Gunsight Pass, with twenty-two live episodes between March 12 and September 30, 1950.
On February 25, 1950, Your Show of Shows premiered at 9:00 on NBC.
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.
- McNeil, Alex. Total Television. Fourth edition. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-024916-8.
- Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle (1964). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows (3rd ed.). New York: Ballantine. ISBN 0-345-31864-1.
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