Here’s the schedule for NBC’s experimental station W2XBS in New York City for the week beginning Sunday, June 30th, 1940, straight from television listings printed in The New York Times. The station was off the air Sunday, Monday and Saturday and filled the rest of the week with films, news reports and programming from the World’s Fair. Plus, a sketch called “The Neighbors” written by Zona Gale and performed by the American Actors Company.
Tuesday, July 2nd, 1940 [1]
3:30-4:30PM – Films.
6:45-7:00PM – News, Lowell Thomas.
9:00-10:00PM – The American Actors Company in “The Neighbors,” a Sketch by Zona Gale; Mariam Marmein, Dance Pantomime; Film, “Aida.”Wednesday, July 3rd, 1940 [2]
3:30-4:30PM – Film: Songs and Saddles.
9:00-10:00PM – Variety, from World’s Fair.Thursday, July 4th, 1940 [3]
3:30-4:30PM – Pageant, Court of Peace, World’s Fair.
9:00-10:00PM – Film: Zamboanga.Friday, July 5th, 1940 [4]
3:30-4:30PM – Film: West of Nevada.
6:45-7:00PM – News Bulletins.
9:00-10:00PM – Gypsy Orch.; Minstrels.
Works Cited:
Thursday’s feature, “Zamboanga,” was a 1937 drama about warring fishing tribes that marked the debut of film production in the Philippines. Filmed entirely in Tagalog, it premiered in New York in 1938, presumably with subtitles, but was not shown in the country of origin until 2004.
The Friday news bulletin probably wasn’t read by Lowell Thomas, who, according to staffers, preferred to do weekend broadcasts from his home study at Pawling, NY, some 65 miles north of Manhattan.