1955-56 United States network television schedule
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1955-56 United States network television schedule was for the period that began in September 1955 and ran through March 1956. Owing to the demise of the DuMont Television Network, it was also the first TV season that the three major US television networks (NBC, ABC and CBS) would be the only full-time commercial participants in prime-time, a situation which was to remain for the next 30-plus seasons, until Fox began operations in October, 1986, although Fox would not enter prime-time until Sunday, April 5, 1987.
New fall series are highlighted in bold.
The highest-rated show for the year was The $64,000 Question.
Contents |
[edit] Sunday
| PM | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | You Asked For It | Famous Film Festival | Chance of a Lifetime | The Original Amateur Hour | Life Begins at Eighty | Local | ||
| CBS | Lassie | The Jack Benny Program/Private Secretary | The Ed Sullivan Show | General Electric Theater | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Appointment with Adventure | What's My Line? | |
| NBC | It's a Great Life | Frontier | The Steve Allen Show | Goodyear Television Playhouse/The Alcoa Hour | The Loretta Young Show | Justice | ||
| DMT | Local | |||||||
Note: On NBC, Color Spread aired as a monthly series 7:30-9 p.m.
[edit] Monday
| PM | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | 7:00 Kukla, Fran and Ollie / 7:15 ABC News | Topper (repeats) | TV Reader's Digest | The Voice of Firestone | The Dotty Mack Show | Medical Horizons | The Big Picture | Local |
| CBS | 7:00 Local / 7:15 CBS Evening News | The Adventures of Robin Hood | The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show | Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts | I Love Lucy | December Bride | Studio One | |
| NBC | Mama's Little Babies | 7:30 The Tony Martin Show / 7:45 Camel News Caravan | Caesar's Hour | Medic | Robert Montgomery Presents | Local | ||
| DMT | Local | 9:00 Boxing from St. Nicholas Arena / 10:45 At Ringside | ||||||
Note: On NBC, Producer's Showcase aired as a monthly series 8-9:30 p.m. No longer a network operation, DuMont continued airing its Boxing from St. Nicholas Arena on an occasional basis over individual stations until August 6, 1956.
[edit] Tuesday
| PM | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | 7:00 Kukla, Fran and Ollie / 7:15 ABC News | Warner Brothers Presents: Kings Row/Cheyenne/Casablanca | The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp | Make Room for Daddy | Du Pont Cavalcade Theater | Talent Varieties | Local | |
| CBS | 7:00 Local / 7:15 CBS Evening News | Name That Tune | Navy Log | You'll Never Get Rich | Meet Millie | The Red Skelton Show | The $64,000 Question | My Favorite Husband |
| NBC | Local | 7:30 The Dinah Shore Show / 7:45 Camel News Caravan | The Milton Berle Show/The Martha Raye Show/The Chevy Show | Jane Wyman's Fireside Theater | Armstrong Circle Theatre/Pontiac Presents Playwrights '56 | Big Town | ||
| DMT | Local | |||||||
[edit] Wednesday
| PM | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | 7:00 Kukla, Fran and Ollie / 7:15 ABC News | Disneyland | MGM Parade | Masquerade Party | Break the Bank | The Wednesday Night Fights | ||
| CBS | 7:00 Local / 7:15 CBS Evening News | Brave Eagle | Arthur Godfrey and His Friends | The Millionaire | I've Got a Secret | The United States Steel Hour/The 20th Century Fox Hour | ||
| NBC | Local | 7:30 Coke Time with Eddie Fisher / 7:45 Plymouth News Caravan | Screen Director's Playhouse | Father Knows Best | Kraft Television Theater | This Is Your Life | Midwestern Hayride | |
| DMT | Local | What's the Story | Local | |||||
Note: On DuMont, What's the Story aired only in September.
[edit] Thursday
| PM | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | 7:00 Kukla, Fran and Ollie / 7:15 ABC News | The Lone Ranger | Life is Worth Living | Stop the Music | Star Tonight | Down You Go | Outside U.S.A. | Local |
| CBS | 7:00 Local / 7:15 CBS Evening News | Sergeant Preston of the Yukon | The Bob Cummings Show | Climax!/Shower of Stars | Four Star Playhouse | The Johnny Carson Show | Wanted | |
| NBC | Local | 7:30 The Dinah Shore Show / 7:45 Camel News Caravan | You Bet Your Life | The People’s Choice | Dragnet | Ford Theatre | Lux Video Theatre | |
| DMT | Local | |||||||
[edit] Friday
| PM | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | 7:00 Kukla, Fran and Ollie / 7:15 ABC News | The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin | The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet | Crossroads | Dollar a Second | The Vise | Ethel and Albert | Local |
| CBS | 7:00 Local / 7:15 CBS Evening News | The Adventures of Champion | Mama | Our Miss Brooks | The Crusader | Schlitz Playhouse of Stars | The Lineup | Person to Person |
| NBC | Local | 7:30 Coke Time with Eddie Fisher / 7:45 Plymouth News Caravan | Truth or Consequences | The Life of Riley | The Big Story | Star Stage | 10:00 Gillette Cavalcade of Sports / 10:45 Red Barber's Corner | |
| DMT | Local | |||||||
[edit] Saturday
| PM | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Local | Ozark Jubilee/Grand Ole Opry | Lawrence Welk's Dodge Dancing Party | Tomorrow's Careers | Local | |||
| CBS | The Gene Autry Show | Beat the Clock | Stage Show | The Honeymooners | Two for the Money | It's Always Jan | Gunsmoke | Winky Dink and You |
| NBC | Local | The Big Surprise | The Perry Como Show | People Are Funny | Texaco Star Theater: The Jimmy Durante Show/The Dennis Day Show | The George Gobel Show | Your Hit Parade | |
| DMT | Local | |||||||
Note: On ABC, Grand Ole Opry made its debut as a monthly series, airing 7:30-9 p.m. On CBS, Ford Star Jubilee made its debut as a monthly series, airing 9:30-11 p.m. On NBC, Max Liebman Presents aired as a montly series 9-10:30 p.m.
[edit] References
- 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.
|
|||||
