The following is the 1951–52 network television schedule for the four major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1951 through March 1952. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1950–51 season. This was the first television season of national network interconnection by coaxial cable and microwave, meaning programming could be transmitted live coast-to-coast (or in the case of filmed programs, distributed simultaneously across the country) if needed.
On Sunday nights, NBC experimented with airing its new comedy-variety program Chesterfield Sound-off Time (featuring Bob Hope, Fred Allen and Jerry Lester as rotating hosts) in an early evening timeslot, 7:00–7:30. Previously, network TV variety programs had only been aired during late evening hours; NBC had experimented with a late-night show, Broadway Open House, with Lester as host the previous season, but that show was not considered a success (it was replaced by the more generic Mary Kay's Nightcap this season). According to television historians Castleman and Podrazik (1982), the experiment was designed to "duplicate the early-evening radio success of Jack Benny".[1] (Benny himself would appear on rival network CBS's The Jack Benny Program immediately following Chesterfield Sound-off Time). Red Skelton also made his network television debut on NBC's Sunday night schedule this season, but long-term success eluded him until after he moved to CBS in the fall of 1953.
Although most TV programming was live, both CBS and NBC also experimented in filmed series; Castleman and Podrazik highlight early filmed hits I Love Lucy on CBS and Dragnet on NBC. Dragnet was "one of NBC's first major experiments in filmed TV series"; the series was added to NBC's regular network schedule in January 1952, after a "preview" on Chesterfield Sound-off Time in December 1951.[1] I Love Lucy was given what historians have called a "choice time slot": Monday night immediately following the number one program on television: Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. The series "proved the strength and acceptability of TV sitcoms, giving [CBS] a strong weapon against NBC's flashy comedy-variety hours".[1]
DuMont, too, avoided flashy comedy series when in February 1952, in desperation the network added Bishop Fulton Sheen's program, Life Is Worth Living, to its Tuesday night schedule. The religious series was pitted against NBC's hit program Texaco Star Theater, and became the surprise hit of the year, holding its own against Texaco host "Uncle Miltie", and attracting a sponsor, an Emmy, and 10 million viewers.[2] The ABC and CBS programs which aired in the same time slot, Charlie Wild, Private Detective, and The Frank Sinatra Show (respectively), attracted relatively few viewers.[2]
New fall series are highlighted in bold.
Each of the 30 highest-rated shows is listed with its rank and rating as determined by Nielsen Media Research.[3]
Yellow indicates the programs in the top 10 for the season.
Cyan indicates the programs in the top 20 for the season.
Magenta indicates the programs in the top 30 for the season.
| Network | 7:00 PM | 7:30 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Paul Whiteman's Goodyear Revue | Music in Velvet | Admission Free | Other Lands, Other People | The Marshall Plan in Action | Hour of Decision | Youth on the March | |||
| CBS | The Gene Autry Show | This Is Show Business | Toast of the Town | The Fred Waring Show | Celebrity Time | What's My Line? | ||||
| NBC | Fall | Chesterfield Sound-off Time | Young Mr. Bobbin | The Colgate Comedy Hour (5/45.3) | The Philco Television Playhouse (12/40.4) /Goodyear Television Playhouse (16/37.8) | The Red Skelton Show (4/50.2) | Leave It to the Girls | |||
| Summer | The Big Payoff | |||||||||
| DMN | Local | Pentagon | Rocky King, Inside Detective | The Plainclothesman | They Stand Accused | |||||
| Network | 7:00 PM | 7:30 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | 7:00 After the Deadlines / 7:15 Local | Hollywood Screen Test | The Amazing Mr. Malone/Mr. District Attorney | Curtain Up | The Bill Gwinn Show | Studs' Place | |||
| Spring | Mr. District Attorney/Out of the Fog | |||||||||
| CBS | Fall | Local | 7:30 Douglas Edwards with the News / 7:45 The Perry Como Show | Lux Video Theatre | Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts (1/53.8) | I Love Lucy (3/50.9) | It's News to Me | Studio One | ||
| Spring | Claudia | |||||||||
| NBC | Fall | Kukla, Fran and Ollie | 7:30 Mohawk Showroom / 7:45 Camel News Caravan | The Speidel Show/The Paul Winchell Show | The Voice of Firestone | Lights Out | Robert Montgomery Presents (26/34.4) | Who Said That? | ||
| Follow-up | 7:00 Kukla, Fran and Ollie/7:15 Bob and Ray | |||||||||
| Spring | 7:00–7:15 Kukla, Fran and Ollie | |||||||||
| Summer | Summer Stock Theatre | |||||||||
| DMN | Captain Video and His Video Rangers | Local | Stage Entrance | The Johns Hopkins Science Review | Wrestling from Columbia Park | |||||
Notes: On NBC, Kukla, Fran and Ollie was reduced from 30 to 15 minutes in November 1951, and Bob and Ray was added at 7:15 p.m. Bob and Ray ran in the 7:15 p.m. time slot Monday through Friday until March 1952 and then on Tuesday and Thursday only until May 1952, while Kukla, Fran and Ollie continued in its 15-minute format at 7:00 p.m. until June 1952. In January 1952, The Speidel Show was renamed for its star, Paul Winchell, becoming The Paul Winchell Show.
| Network | 7:00 PM | 7:30 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | 7:00 After the Deadlines / 7:15 Local | The Beulah Show | Charlie Wild, Private Detective | What Do You Think? | United or Not | On Trial | Q.E.D. | The Symphony | ||
| CBS | Local | The Frank Sinatra Show | Crime Syndicated/City Hospital | Suspense | Danger | MLB | ||||
| NBC | Fall | Kukla, Fran and Ollie | 7:30 The Little Show / 7:45 Camel News Caravan | Texaco Star Theater (2/52.0) | Fireside Theatre (7/43.1) | Armstrong Circle Theatre (24/34.7) | The Original Amateur Hour | |||
| Follow-up | 7:00 Kukla, Fran and Ollie/7:15 Bob and Ray | |||||||||
| Summer | Local | Boss Lady | ||||||||
| DMN | Captain Video and His Video Rangers | Local | What's the Story | Keep Posted | Cosmopolitan Theatre | Hands of Mystery | Local | |||
| Network | 7:00 PM | 7:30 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | 7:00 After the Deadlines / 7:15 Local | Chance of a Lifetime | Paul Dixon Show | Don McNeill's TV Club/The Arthur Murray Party | The Clock | Celanese Theater/Pulitzer Prize Playhouse* | ||||
| CBS | Local | 7:30 Douglas Edwards with the News / 7:45 The Perry Como Show | Arthur Godfrey and His Friends (6/43.3) | Strike It Rich (25/34.5) | The Web | 10:00 Pabst Blue Ribbon Bouts (17/37.5) / 10:45 Sports Spot | ||||
| NBC | Fall | Kukla, Fran and Ollie | 7:30 The Mohawk Showroom / 7:45 Camel News Caravan | The Kate Smith Evening Hour | Kraft Television Theatre (23/34.8) | Break the Bank | The Freddy Martin Show | |||
| Follow-up | 7:00 Kukla, Fran and Ollie/7:15 Bob and Ray | |||||||||
| Spring | 7:00–7:15 Kukla, Fran and Ollie | |||||||||
| DMN | Captain Video and His Video Rangers | Local | The Gallery of Mme. Liu-Tsong | Shadow of the Cloak | Local | |||||
(*) From December 1951 to June 1952, these shows were 30 minutes, 10pm to 10:30pm ET
Notes: Wayne King was seen only on NBC's Midwest Network. On NBC, Kukla, Fran and Ollie was reduced from 30 to 15 minutes in November 1951, and Bob and Ray was added at 7:15 p.m. Bob and Ray ran in the 7:15 p.m. time slot Monday through Friday until March 1952 and then on Tuesday and Thursday only until May 1952, while Kukla, Fran and Ollie continued in its 15-minute format at 7:00 p.m. until June 1952.
Notes: Henry Morgan's Great Talent Hunt replaced Versatile Varieties on January 26, 1951.
On NBC, Kukla, Fran and Ollie was reduced from 30 to 15 minutes in November 1951, and Bob and Ray was added at 7:15 p.m. Bob and Ray ran in the 7:15 p.m. time slot Monday through Friday until March 1952 and then on Tuesday and Thursday only until May 1952, while Kukla, Fran and Ollie continued in its 15-minute format at 7:00 p.m. until June 1952.
| Network | 7:00 PM | 7:30 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | The Ruggles | The Jerry Colonna Show | Paul Whiteman's TV Teen Club | Lesson in Safety | America's Health | Harness Racing | |||||
| CBS | The Sammy Kaye Variety Show | Beat the Clock | The Ken Murray Show | Faye Emerson's Wonderful Town | The Show Goes On | Songs for Sale | |||||
| NBC | Fall | The American Youth Forum | One Man's Family | All-Star Revue (20/36.3) (Tied with Dragnet) | Your Show of Shows (8/43.0) | Your Hit Parade | |||||
| Summer | Bob and Ray | Blind Date | Local | ||||||||
| DMN | Local | Wrestling From Marigold | |||||||||
Notes: On NBC, All-Star Revue formerly was known as Four Star Revue. Bob and Ray, broadcast earlier in the season as a 15-minute weeknight program, expanded to 30 minutes and ran from July to August at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
Returning Series
New Series
Not returning from 1950–51:
Returning Series
New Series
Not returning from 1950–51:
Returning series
New series
Not returning from 1950–51:
Returning Series
New Series
Not returning from 1950–51:
Note: The * indicates that the program was introduced in midseason.