# 1946–47 United States network television schedule

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, Paramount, and ABC—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, it was not until 1946 that coaxial cable connections allowed stations to share the same program schedules. Even then, only a few cities on the East Coast were connected.
Notable series on the schedule included the first network TV soap opera, Faraway Hill; the poorly-received but ambitious variety series, Hour Glass; the first network-televised game show, Cash and Carry (prior game shows had been single-station only); and the anthology series Kraft Television Theatre, which ran until 1958.
Few broadcasts made during this season exist in any archive, but segments of Campus Hoopla 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).
New series and those that made their network debuts during the season are highlighted in bold. Series ending are highlighted in italics.

## Legend

* Light blue indicates local programming.
* Light green indicates sporting events.
* Light purple indicates movies.

## Sunday

| Network | 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. |
| NBC | Fall | Local programming | Local programming | (8:00 p.m.) Face to Face (8:15 p.m.) Geographically Speaking | Broadway Previews/NBC Television Theatre | Broadway Previews/NBC Television Theatre | Local programming | Local programming | Local programming |
| NBC | Winter | Local programming | Local programming | (8:00 p.m.) Face to Face (8:15 p.m.) Bristol-Myers Tele-Varieties | Broadway Previews/NBC Television Theatre | Broadway Previews/NBC Television Theatre | Local programming | Local programming | Local programming |
| NBC | Summer | Local programming | Local programming | (8:00 p.m.) Face to Face (8:15 p.m.) Bristol-Myers Tele-Varieties | Television Screen Magazine | The Borden Show | Local programming | Local programming | Local programming |
* Beginning in December 1946 on WNBT-TV, and then on January 5, 1947, on the NBC Network, Bristol-Myers Tele-Varieties, hosted by Jinx Falkenburg and Tex McCrary, aired Sundays from 8:15 to 8:30pm ET.

## Monday

| Network | 7:00 p.m. | 7:50 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. |
| DMN | Local programming | Local programming | Local programming | Local programming | Boxing from Jamaica Arena | Boxing from Jamaica Arena | Boxing from Jamaica Arena | Boxing from Jamaica Arena |
| NBC | Local programming | The Esso Newsreel | (8:00 p.m.) Voice of Firestone Televues (8:10 p.m.) Short Film Subjects | Boxing from St. Nicholas Arena (open-ended) | Boxing from St. Nicholas Arena (open-ended) | Boxing from St. Nicholas Arena (open-ended) | Boxing from St. Nicholas Arena (open-ended) | Boxing from St. Nicholas Arena (open-ended) |

## Tuesday

| Network | 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. |
| DMN | Fall | Local programming | Local programming | Play the Game | Selected Film Shorts | Serving Through Science | Local programming | Local programming | Local programming |
| DMN | Spring | Local programming | Local programming | Play the Game | Selected Film Shorts | Serving Through Science | Cash and Carry | Local programming | Local programming |
| DMN | Summer | Small Fry Club | Highway to the Stars | Western movie | Western movie | Local programming | Local programming | Local programming | Local programming |

## Wednesday

| Network | 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. |
| DMN | DMN | Local programming | Local programming | Magic Carpet (travelogue) | Local programming | Faraway Hill | Boxing from Jamaica Arena | Boxing from Jamaica Arena | Boxing from Jamaica Arena |
| NBC | Fall | Local programming | Local programming | Local programming | Local programming | Local programming | Local programming | Local programming | Local programming |
| NBC | Spring | Local programming | Kraft Television Theatre (From May 7) | Kraft Television Theatre (From May 7) | (8:30 p.m.) In the Kelvinator Kitchen (From May 21)/(8:45 p.m.) Local programming | Local programming | Local programming | Local programming | Local programming |

## Thursday

| Network | 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. |
| DMN | Fall | Local programming | Local programming | Vera Massey Show | Film Shorts | Cash and Carry | Local programming | Local programming | Local programming |
| DMN | Winter | Local programming | Local programming | Melody Bar Ranch | Film Shorts | Cash and Carry | Local programming | Local programming | Local programming |
| DMN | Spring | Local programming | Local programming | Melody Bar Ranch | Film Shorts | Local programming | Local programming | Local programming | Local programming |
| DMN | Summer | Local programming | King Cole's Birthday Party | Melody Bar Ranch | Film Shorts | Local programming | Local programming | Local programming | Local programming |
| NBC | NBC | Local programming | (7:30 p.m.) In Town Today (7:50 p.m.) The Esso Newsreel | Hour Glass | Hour Glass | Famous Fights (Boxing film highlights) | Local programming | Local programming | Local programming |
Note: On DuMont, King Cole's Birthday Party was also known simply as Birthday Party. It debuted on Dumont's New York City station, WABD 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

| Network | 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. |
| DMN | DMN | Local programming | Local programming | Western movie | Western movie | Wrestling from Jamaica Arena | Wrestling from Jamaica Arena | Wrestling from Jamaica Arena | Wrestling from Jamaica Arena |
| NBC | Fall | Local programming | Television Quarterback (To December 20) | (8:00 p.m.) You Are an Artist (8:15 p.m.) Let's Rhumba | (8:30 p.m.) I Love to Eat (8:45 p.m.) The World in Your Home | Boxing from Madison Square Garden (open-ended) | Boxing from Madison Square Garden (open-ended) | Boxing from Madison Square Garden (open-ended) | Boxing from Madison Square Garden (open-ended) |
| NBC | Winter | Local programming | Campus Hoopla (From December 27) | (8:00 p.m.) You Are an Artist (8:15 p.m.) Local programming | (8:30 p.m.) I Love to Eat (8:45 p.m.) The World in Your Home | Boxing from Madison Square Garden (open-ended) | Boxing from Madison Square Garden (open-ended) | Boxing from Madison Square Garden (open-ended) | Boxing from Madison Square Garden (open-ended) |
| NBC | Spring | Local programming | Campus Hoopla (From December 27) | (8:00 p.m.) You Are an Artist (8:15 p.m.) The World in Your Home | I Love to Eat | Boxing from Madison Square Garden (open-ended) | Boxing from Madison Square Garden (open-ended) | Boxing from Madison Square Garden (open-ended) | Boxing from Madison Square Garden (open-ended) |
| NBC | Late spring | Local programming | Local programming | Campus Hoopla | (8:30 p.m.) You Are an Artist (8:45 p.m.) The World in Your Home | Boxing from Madison Square Garden (open-ended) | Boxing from Madison Square Garden (open-ended) | Boxing from Madison Square Garden (open-ended) | Boxing from Madison Square Garden (open-ended) |

## By network

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

### NBC

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