This is a list of American television-related events in 1952.
| Date | Event | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| January 14 | The Today Show makes its debut on NBC. | [1] |
| May 22 | The first televised atomic bomb detonation, billed as "Operation Tumbler–Snapper", is broadcast on KTLA in Los Angeles, and fed to the three major networks via a microwave link. | |
| September 20 | KPTV in Portland, Oregon, begins broadcasting on channel 27 as the world"s first commercial Ultra High Frequency (UHF) television station. | |
| October 7 | In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Bandstand, the predecessor to American Bandstand, debuts on WFIL-TV to change emphasis to teens dancing to popular music records. | |
| November 16 | Television City, at this time known as CBS Television City, opens on Beverly Boulevard in Hollywood, California as the network's first television studio based on the west coast. | |
| November 27 | CBS broadcasts the first telecast of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade from New York City. | |
| Date | Show | Network | Debut | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 1 | We the People | NBC | June 1, 1948 (on CBS) | |
| January 13 | Out There | October 28, 1951 | ||
| February 22 | Say It with Acting | January 8, 1951 (on NBC) | ||
| February 28 | Public Prosecutor | February 1951 | ||
| March 2 | Major Dell Conway of the Flying Tigers | DuMont | April 7, 1951 | |
| March 2 | Stage Entrance | DuMont | May 2, 1951 | |
| March 20 | Shadow of the Cloak | DuMont | June 6, 1951 | |
| March 27 | The Bill Goodwin Show | September 11, 1951 | ||
| March 29 | The Talent Shop | DuMont | October 13, 1951 | |
| April 13 | CBS Television Workshop | January 13, 1952 | ||
| April 19 | Faye Emerson's Wonderful Town | CBS | June 16, 1951 | |
| April 24 | Stop the Music | ABC | May 5, 1949 | |
| March 2 | Major Dell Conway of the Flying Tigers | DuMont | April 7, 1951 | |
| May 21 | It's a Business | DuMont | March 19, 1952 | |
| May 29 | The Cases of Eddie Drake | DuMont | March 6, 1952 | |
| June 4 | Pulitzer Prize Playhouse | ABC | October 6, 1950 | |
| June 5 | Casey, Crime Photographer | April 19, 1951 | ||
| June 14 | Dagmar's Canteen | March 22, 1952 | ||
| June 19 | Charlie Wild, Private Detective | DuMont | December 22, 1950 (on CBS) | |
| June 19 | The Ruggles | DuMont | October 23, 1949 | |
| June 25 | Celanese Theatre | October 2, 1951 | ||
| June 26 | DuMont Royal Theater | DuMont | April 12, 1951 | |
| June 27 | The First Hundred Years | CBS | December 4, 1950 | |
| June 30 | Claudia | CBS | January 6, 1952 (on NBC) | |
| July 4 | Johnny Olson's Rumpus Room | DuMont | January 17, 1949 | |
| August 26 | Guess What | DuMont | July 8, 1952 | |
| September 12 | The Magic Cottage | DuMont | July 18, 1949 | |
| September 18 | Operation Information | DuMont | July 17, 1952 | |
| September 21 | Celebrity Time | CBS | November 20, 1948 | |
| September 26 | Curtain Call | NBC | June 20, 1952 | |
| November 11 | The Power of Women | July 1, 1952 | ||
| November 13 | The Frank Sinatra Show | CBS | October 7, 1950 | |
| November 24 | Pentagon | DuMont | May 6, 1951 | |
| November 29 | Battle of the Ages | CBS | January 1, 1952 (on DuMont) | |
| December 9 | Quick on the Draw | DuMont | January 18, 1952 | |
| December 10 | The Unexpected | DuMont | March 5, 1952 | |
| December 22 | Famous Fights from Madison Square Garden | September 15, 1952 | ||
| December 22 | Football Sidelines | October 6, 1952 | ||
| December 23 | Leave It to Larry | CBS | October 14, 1952 | |
| December 25 | Gangbusters | NBC | March 20, 1952 | |
| Unknown date | At Home with Billie Burke | DuMont | June 1951 | |
| Date | City of License/Market | Station | Channel | Affiliation | Notes/Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 18 | 2 | |||||
| September 20 | 27 | NBC (primary) ABC/CBS/DuMont (secondary) | World's first commercial UHF television station; now a Fox affiliate on channel 12. | |||
| October 12 | 9 | CBS (primary) ABC (secondary) | ||||
| November 1 | 7 | CBS | ||||
| November 13 | 13 | CBS (primary) DuMont (secondary) | ||||
| November 27 | Austin, Texas | 7 | CBS (primary) ABC/DuMont/NBC (secondary) | Now a Fox O&O station | ||
| December 1 | 9 | CBS (primary) NBC (secondary) | ||||
| December 7 | 11 | CBS (primary) ABC/NBC/DuMont (secondary) | ||||
| December 11 | 10 | NBC (primary) ABC (secondary) | ||||
| December 14 | 4 | CBS (primary) ABC/DuMont (secondary) | ||||
| December 15 | Honolulu, Hawaii | 11 | NBC (primary) DuMont (secondary) | |||
| December 20 | 6 | NBC (primary) ABC (secondary) | ||||
| December 21 | 46 | NBC (primary) CBS/ABC/DuMont (secondary) | ||||
| 43 | ABC | |||||
| 22 | CBS (primary) ABC/NBC/DuMont (secondary) | |||||
| December 30 | WKAB-TV | 48 | Independent |
See main article: article.