Here’s the schedule for WNBT, the NBC station in New York City, for the week starting Sunday, January 26th, 1947. The New York Times published daily listings for television stations in the city, including WNBT, alongside its comprehensive radio listings.
Ed Gardner was the guest on Tele-varieties on Sunday, January 26th. Later that night, WNBT aired a drama called “A Marriage Proposal,” another installment of NBC Television Theater.
WNBT debuted Books on Trial on Monday, January 27th. It was actually a simulcast of a radio show of the same name, hosted by Sterling North on station WHN in New York City. The radio program began in May 1946. North acted as judge while two “attorneys” argued against and in defense of a certain author and book, each trying to sway the jury.
The televised debut featured author Elliott Roosevelt and his book As We Saw It. The “prosecuting attorney” was critic Norman Cousins. Acting as “defense attorney” was journalist Leland Stowe. Books on Trial may have been a local WNBT program and not an NBC network show.
Once again, there were no listings published on Tuesday or Thursday.
WNBNT aired a special birthday tribute to the late Franklin D. Roosevelt on Thursday, January 30th.
There were no sporting events on Saturday, only an unidentified feature film and film shorts.
Sunday, January 26th, 1947
8:00PM Face to Face – Cartoon Quiz
8:20PM Tele-varieties: Ed Gardner, Guest
8:35PM Film Short
8:45PM Television Theatre [NBC Television Theater]: A Marriage Proposal
9:15PM Film Short
Monday, January 27th, 1947
8:00PM Books on Trial, From Hotel Barbizon-Plaza
8:30PM Film Shorts
9:00PM Television Reporter
9:10PM Televues [The Voice of Firestone Televues]
9:20PM Boxing, St. Nicholas Arena (To 11)
Tuesday, January 28th, 1947
No Programs Listed
Wednesday, January 29th, 1947
No Programs Listed
Thursday, January 30th, 1947
7:50PM Television Newsreel
8:00PM Hour Glass: Variety
8:45PM Ski News and Film Short
9:00PM You Are an Artist-Jon Gnagy
9:15PM Birthday Tribute to Franklin D. Roosevelt
Friday, January 31st, 1947
8:00PM Campus Show [Campus Hoopla]
8:20PM Ski News and Films
8:30PM I Love to Eat
8:45PM World in Your Home–Film
9:00PM Boxing, Madison Square Garden
Saturday, February 1st, 1947
8:00PM Feature Film and Shorts
Note: Television listings published in newspapers were based on information provided by stations and were subject to change at the last minute. They may not be an accurate representation of what actually aired.
Might WHN radio have paid WNBT for the airtime and production expenses for a TV version of “Books On Trail”??
The “Ski News” on Thursday and Friday likely was a report on ski conditions at resorts in the Catskills, Adirondacks, New England, and the Poconos.
Skiing was still in the “stone age” in 1947: There was as yet no snowmaking, and only a handful of ski areas had any lifts or rope tows.
Lifts became quite common a few years later, as would snowmaking by the 1970’s. Indeed, alpine (and even cross-country) skiing events at several Winter Olympics since the mid 1970’s only took place due to snowmaking.