1949–50 United States network television schedule

The 1949–50 network television schedule for the four major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1949 through March 1950. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1948–49 season. 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 series are highlighted in bold.

Notable debuts during the season included The Plainclothesman with its unusual camera work, the popular The Lone Ranger (which is one of the few 1940s television series to be given a DVD release), The Ed Wynn Show (a short-lived series featuring popular performers as guests and the first variety show from the West Coast), and the unsuccessful series The Life of Riley, one of the first sitcoms to be produced on film as opposed to live transmission. Continuing from the prior season were the highly popular variety series Toast of the Town, the critically well-received and popular anthology series Studio One, the critically panned but popular Captain Video and His Video Rangers which was one of the earliest sci-fi TV series, the well received by critics and viewers anthology series Kraft Television Theater, the popular Kukla, Fran and Ollie, and the popular in some regions drama/comedy The Goldbergs (which is also one of the few 1940s television series to be given a DVD release).

Legend

•   Light blue indicates local programming.
•   Blue-gray indicates news programming.
•   Light green indicates sporting events.
•   Light purple indicates movies.

Sunday

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.
ABC		Stained Glass Windows	ABC Penthouse Players	Think Fast	The Little Revue	Let There Be Stars		Celebrity Time	Youth on the March
CBS	Fall	Tonight on Broadway	This Is Show Business	Toast of the Town		The Fred Waring Show		(10:00) The Week in Review (10:15) Local Programming	Local Programming
	Spring	Starlight Theatre
DMN		Front Row Center		Chicagoland Mystery Players	Cinema Varieties	Cross Question		Local Programming
NBC		Leave It to the Girls	The Aldrich Family	The Chesterfield Supper Club	Colgate Theatre	The Philco Television Playhouse		Garroway at Large	Local Programming

Monday

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.
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 Theatre	Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts	The Black Robe	The Goldbergs	Studio One
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
NBC	Kukla, Fran and Ollie	(7:30) Mohawk Showroom (7:45) Camel News Caravan	Chevrolet Tele-Theater	The Voice of Firestone	Candid Camera	Cities Service Band of America	Quiz Kids	Local Programming

Notes: 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, The Black Robe aired at various times on Mondays from August through October 1949.

Tuesday

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.
ABC		(7:00) News and Views (7:15) Club Seven	On Trial	Local Programming		Oboler Comedy Theater	Local Programming	Tomorrow's Boxing Champions
CBS	Fall	(7:00) Your Sports Special (7:15) Local Programming	(7:30) CBS Television News (7:45) The Sonny Kendis Show (7:55) Ruthie on the Telephone	Uptown Jubilee		Local Programming	Suspense	(10:00) The Week in Sports (10:15) Local Programming	Local Programming
	November					Actors Studio
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 Programming
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

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

Wednesday

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.
ABC	Fall	(7:00) News and Views (7:15) Club Seven	Local Programming	Actors Studio (through October)	Photocrime	Local Programming	Wrestling from the Rainbo in Chicago
	October		Local Programming
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
DMN	Fall	Captain Video and His Video Rangers	(7:30) The Vincent Lopez Show (7:45) Manhattan Spotlight*	Local Programming		The Plainclothesman	Famous Jury Trials	Local Programming
	December		(7:30) The Vincent Lopez Show (7:45) Easy Aces
	Summer		(7:30) The Vincent Lopez Show (7:45) Manhattan Spotlight
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 Programming

• Manhattan Spotlight was replaced by Easy Aces from December 1949 to June 1950.

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

Thursday

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.
ABC	Fall	(7:00) News and Views (7:15) Club Seven	The Lone Ranger	Stop the Music		Crusade in Europe	Starring Boris Karloff	Roller Derby
	Spring					Blind Date
	Summer						Blind Date
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 Programming
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
NBC	Fall	Kukla, Fran and Ollie	(7:30) Mohawk Showroom (7:45) Camel News Caravan	Hollywood Premiere	Mary Kay and Johnny	Fireball Fun-For-All		Martin Kane, Private Eye	The Wayne King Show
	Winter			The Black Robe

Notes: 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, The Black Robe aired from 8:00 to 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time from January to March 1950. The Wayne King Show was seen only on NBC's Midwest Network.

Friday

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.
ABC	Fall	(7:00) News and Views (7:15) Club Seven	Local Programming	Majority Rules	Blind Date	Auction-Aire	Fun for the Money	Roller Derby
	Spring
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
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 Programming	Amateur Boxing Fight Club
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

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

Saturday

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.
ABC		(7:00) News and Views (7:15) Local Programming	Hollywood Screen Test	Paul Whiteman's TV Teen Club		Local Programming
CBS	Fall	(6:45) Lucky Pup (7:15) Local Programming	(7:30) In the First Person (7:45) Blues by Bargy (7:55) Ruthie on the Telephone	Local Programming		Premiere Playhouse		Local Programming
	Spring	(6:45) Lucky Pup (7:15) Blues by Bargy	(7:30) In the First Person (7:55) Ruthie on the Telephone
	Summer	Big Top
DMN	Fall	Captain Video and His Video Rangers	Local Programming	Spin the Picture		Cavalcade of Stars		Wrestling From Marigold
	Winter			Dinner Date With Vincent Lopez	Local Programming
NBC	Fall	Local Programming	(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 Programming
	November							The Black Robe	Local Programming
	February					Your Show of Shows			The Black Robe
	April								Local Programming

Notes: In the half-hour preceding prime time, ABC aired one of the first television westerns, The Marshal of Gunsight Pass, with 22 live episodes between March 12 and September 30, 1950.

From January 28 to July 29, 1950, Dinner Date With Vincent Lopez aired Saturdays from 8 to 8:30pm ET on DuMont.

On NBC, The Black Robe aired from 10:00 to 10:30 p.m. on Saturday from November to December 1949 after airing at various times on Monday from August to October 1949. Your Show of Shows premiered at 9:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, February 25, 1950.

By network

ABC

Returning Series ABC Barn Dance ABC Penthouse Players Actors Studio Author Meets the Critics Blind Date Buzzy Wuzzy Celebrity Time Club Seven Crusade in Europe Fun for the Money Hollywood Screen Test News and Views On Trial Paul Whiteman's TV Teen Club Photoplay Time Roller Derby Stained Glass Windows Think Fast Tomorrow's Boxing Champions Versatile Varieties The Voice of Firestone Wrestling from the Rainbo in Chicago You Asked For It

New Series Auction-Aire The Boris Karloff Mystery Playhouse Buck Rogers * Let There Be Stars Little Revue The Lone Ranger Majority Rules Mama Rosa * Mr. Black Mysteries of Chinatown * Oboler Comedy Theater Paul Whiteman's Goodyear Revue Photocrime The Ruggles Starring Boris Karloff Volume One * Your Show of Shows Your Witness Youth on the March

Not returning from 1948–49: ABC Feature Film ABC Television Players America's Town Meeting Critic at Large Fashions on Parade The Gay Nineties Revue Kiernan's Corner Movieland Quiz Quizzing the News The Southernaires Quartet Sports with Joe Hasel Stand By for Crime Tales of the Red Caboose Teenage Book Club That Reminds Me Three About Town Wrestling from Washington, D.C.

CBS

Returning Series 54th Street Revue Actors Studio (moved from ABC) Arthur Godfrey and His Friends Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts The Bigelow Show CBS Television News Earl Wrightson at Home The Fred Waring Show Ford Theatre The Goldbergs In the First Person International Boxing Club Bouts Lamp Unto My Feet Lucky Pup Mama Our Miss Brooks People's Platform Premiere Playhouse The Roar of the Rails Ruthie on the Telephone The Sonny Kendis Show Studio One Suspense The Ted Steele Show (moved from DuMont) This is Show Business Toast of the Town To the Queen's Taste Tonight on Broadway The Week in Review Your Sports Special

New Series Abe Burrows' Almanac * The Alan Young Show Big Top * The Bigelow Show Capitol Cloak Room Detective's Wife * The Ed Wynn Show Escape * The Front Page The Garry Moore Show * Inside U.S.A. with Chevrolet Joey Faye's Frolics * The Ken Murray Show * Man Against Crime The Paul Arnold Show Romance The Show Goes On * The Silver Theatre Stage 13 * The Stage Door * Starlight Theatre * Television Theatre * The Trap * Uptown Jubilee The Web * The Week in Sports

Not returning from 1948–49: Adventures in Jazz Capital Billy's Mississippi Music Hall Kobbs' Korner Face the Music People's Platform Places Please Sportman's Quiz Tournament of Champions Wesley What's It Worth

DuMont

Returning series And Everything Nice Bowling Headliners (moved from ABC) Broadway to Hollywood Captain Video and His Video Rangers Cavalcade of Stars Court of Current Issues Cross Question Feature Theater Front Row Center Johnny Olson's Rumpus Room The Magic Cottage Manhattan Spotlight The Morey Amsterdam Show (moved from CBS) Newsweek Views the News Spin the Picture The Vincent Lopez Show

New series Adventure Playhouse * The Al Morgan Show Amanda Amateur Boxing Fight Club And Everything Nice Cavalcade of Bands * Chicagoland Mystery Players Cinema Varieties Country Style * Dinner Date with Vincent Lopez * Easy Aces The Family Genius Famous Jury Trials Fishing and Hunting Club Georgetown University Forum * Hands of Mystery The Hazel Scott Show * Mystery Theater The O'Neills Okay, Mother The Plainclothesman Rocky King Detective * Starlit Time * Visit with the Armed Forces * Windy City Jamboree * Wrestling From Marigold

Not returning from 1948–49: Admiral Broadway Revue The Adventures of Oky Doky The Alan Dale Show Boxing From Jamaica Arena Café de Paris Camera Headlines Champagne and Orchids Charade Quiz Doorway to Fame The Growing Paynes Hotel Broadway I.N.S. Telenews The Jack Eigen Show Key to the Missing King Cole's Birthday Party The Laytons Operation Success The School House Spin the Picture The Stan Shaw Show Teen Time Tunes Window on the World Wrestling From Columbia Park Arena

NBC

Returning Series The Black Robe Break the Bank Candid Camera (moved from ABC) Camel News Caravan The Chesterfield Supper Club Chevrolet Tele-Theater The Clock Colgate Theatre Duffy's Tavern Fireball-Fun-For-All Fireside Theatre Garroway at Large Gillette Cavalcade of Sports Greatest Fights of the Century Hollywood Premiere Hopalong Cassidy Kraft Television Theatre Kukla, Fran and Ollie Leave It to the Girls Leon Pearson and the News Mary Kay and Johnny Meet the Press Meet Your Congress Mixed Doubles Mohawk Showroom The Nature of Things The Original Amateur Hour (moved from DuMont) The Philco Television Playhouse Quiz Kids Texaco Star Theater The Wayne King Show We, the People Who Said That?

New Series The Armed Forces Hour Armstrong Circle Theatre * The Big Story Bonny Maid Versatile Varieties Cameo Theatre * The Crisis The Halls of Ivy * Hawkins Falls, Population 6200 Leave It to the Girls The Life of Riley The Marshal of Gunsight Pass Martin Kane, Private Eye Mary Kay and Johnny Masterpiece Playhouse * Screen Directors Playhouse Theatre of the Mind * The Voice of Firestone Your Show of Shows *

Not returning from 1948–49: Admiral Broadway Revue America Song Americana The Bigelow Show Girl About Town Girl of the Week The Gulf Road Show Starring Bob Smith The Hartmans Mary Margaret McBride Musical Merry-Go-Round Musical Miniatures NBC Presents Picture This Princess Sagaphi Saturday Night Jamboree Stop Me If You've Heard This One The Swift Show The Ted Steele Show Television Screen Magazine Theatre of the Mind Village Barn Admiral Presents the Five Star Revue — Welcome Aboard You Are an Artist Your Show Time

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. 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.