This article has multiple issues. Please helpimprove it or discuss these issues on thetalk page.(Learn how and when to remove these messages) This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "1948–49 United States network television schedule" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(September 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article includes a list ofgeneral references, butit lacks sufficient correspondinginline citations. Please help toimprove this article byintroducing more precise citations.(September 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The1948–49 network television schedule for the four major English language commercialbroadcast networks in the United States. The schedule coversprimetime hours from September 1948 through March 1949. The schedule is followed by alist per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the1947–48 season. This was the first season in which all four networks then in operation in the United States offered nightly prime time schedules Monday through Friday.^[1][2]

The schedule below reflects the fall lineup as it all settled into place throughout October 1948, before any subsequent time changes were made and additional new series appeared in November.

New fall series are highlighted inbold. A number ofABC's new fall shows began as early as mid-August when the network first began broadcasting a seven-night schedule.CBS andDuMont also had some new shows begin in the latter half of August. These shows are noted as such by (Aug.).NBC began airingSaturday Night Jamboree in December.^[3][4]

Several notable programs debuted during the season and within the preceding summer. The preservation of these telecasts on kinescope film vary. TheTexaco Star Theater proved to be one of the most notable hits of the year with its host,Milton Berle, credited with encouraging consumers to purchase their first television set. The 1948 episodes of the Berle show are missing, but many of the 1949 episodes still exist. A short-lived series,The Laytons, was the first network television sitcom to feature an African-American in a regular supporting role, albeit a stereotypical one. No episodes have survived.The Morey Amsterdam Show, which debuted on CBS in December, introduced television audiences toArt Carney as a lead cast member. In the David Weinstein book,The Forgotten Network, similarities between Carney's role as "Charlie the Doorman" and his later Ed Norton fromCavalcade of Stars andThe Honeymooners are noted.The Morey Amsterdam Show was not a ratings success. Four episodes are held by theUCLA Film and Television Archive.Toast of the Town, debuting in June 1948 and re-titledThe Ed Sullivan Show in 1955 and a mainstay of Sunday night viewing, became one of the most successful and long-running programs in American television history. It would remain on the air until 1971. The premiere episode with composersRichard Rodgers andOscar Hammerstein II and the comedy team ofDean Martin andJerry Lewis are among the few missing telecasts.

Notes:Toast of the Town, later known asThe Ed Sullivan Show, premiered June 20, 1948, at 9:00 p.m. onCBS.

On DuMont,King Cole's Birthday Party, also known as simplyBirthday Party, aired from 6:00 to 6:30 p.m.Eastern Time from March to May 1949.

Notes: Beginning July 18, 1949,The Magic Cottage aired on DuMont Monday through Friday from 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time. OnNBC,Colgate Theatre premiered on January 3, 1949.

Note: Beginning July 18, 1949,The Magic Cottage aired on DuMont Monday through Friday from 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Notes: On DuMont,King Cole's Birthday Party also was known as simplyBirthday Party.The Laytons only lasted 10 episodes, from August 11 to October 13, 1948. Beginning July 18, 1949,The Magic Cottage aired on DuMont Monday through Friday from 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

On NBC,Picture This, hosted byWendy Barrie, aired November 17, 1948, to February 9, 1949.The Black Robe debuted on May 18, 1949, and ran from 8:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday until it began to air at various times on Mondays during August 1949.

Notes: On ABC,Blind Date debuted on May 5, 1949, airing from 7:30 to 8:00 p.m.Eastern Time. It moved to 9:30 p.m. during July 1949 and aired in that time slot into September 1949.

On DuMont,King Cole's Birthday Party also was known as simplyBirthday Party. Beginning July 18, 1949,The Magic Cottage aired on DuMont Monday through Friday from 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Notes: From April 14, 1948, to April 22, 1949,Russ Hodges' Scoreboard aired Fridays from 6:30pm to 6:45pm ET on DuMont. Beginning July 18, 1949,The Magic Cottage aired on DuMont Monday through Friday from 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

On NBC,Your Show Time replacedMusical Miniatures on January 21, 1949.Your Show Time had premiered on NBC'sEast Coast stations in September 1948, and began to include NBC'sMidwest stations on January 21.

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

• 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.

• United States primetime network television schedules
• 1948 in American television
• 1949 in American television

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles needing additional references from September 2021
• All articles needing additional references
• Articles lacking in-text citations from September 2021
• All articles lacking in-text citations
• Articles with multiple maintenance issues
• Use mdy dates from March 2025