WNBT Schedule, Week of November 30th, 1947

Here’s the schedule for WNBT (NBC’s flagship TV station in New York City) for the week starting Sunday, November 30th, 1947. The New York Times published daily listings for television stations in the city, including WNBT, alongside its comprehensive radio listings.

Television Playhouse, a co-production between NBC and the American National Theatre and Academy (ANTA), did not debut on Sunday (November 30th) as planned. As I explain in my Tales of Lost TV column about the series, it’s unclear why NBC and ANTA decided to delay the premiere broadcast until Thursday, December 4th. It’s also unknown what, if anything, aired in its place.

Earlier on Sunday, WNBT aired an afternoon football game between the New York Giants and the Chicago Cardinals. Author Meets the Critics kicked off the evening lineup.

On Monday (Decmeber 1st), WNBT broadcast an unidentified “Matinee” from Philadelphia during the afternoon, likely relayed from WPTZ. The evening lineup consisted of the regular mix of news, film shorts, and and boxing.

WNBT was off the air on Tuesday (December 2nd).

Another installment of an unidentified children’s program aired at 5PM ET on WEdnesday (December 3rd). Later that evening, WNBT aired something called “Program Review. Kraft Television Theater then presented “Parlor Story,” followed by In the Kelvinator Kitchen. Downtown Quarterback offered a film of Penn State coach Bob Higgins receiving the Lambert Trophy.

Senator Robert A. Taft of Ohio was the guest on Meet the Press on Thursday (December 4th). As I mentioned earlier, Television Playhouse made its debut on Thursday with a production of “Last of My Solid Gold Watches” by Tennessee Williams. In addition to WNBT, it also aired on WRGB (Schenectady, NY), WPTZ (Philadelphia), and WNBW (Washington, DC). Closing out the broadcast day was another episode of Eye Witness.

On Friday (December 5th), NBC broadcast a heavyweight championship boxing match between Joe Louis and Jersey Joe Walcott. It aired on WNBT, WRGB, WPTZ, and WNBW. Spoiler alert: Louis won by split decision, a controversial call by referees.

No programs were scheduled for Saturday (December 6th).

Sunday, November 30th, 1947
 1:50PM Football: Giants vs. Chicago, at Polo Grounds
 8:00PM Author Meets the Critics
 8:30PM Television News
 8:40PM Television Playhouse: The Last of My Solid Gold Watches, with John Stuart Dudley, Robert Moran, Luther Henderson
 9:20PM News; Musical Miniatures

Monday, December 1st, 1947
 2:00PM Matinee, from Philadelphia
 8:00PM Television News
 8:10PM Film Shorts
 8:35PM Boxing, St. Nicholas Arena

Tuesday, December 2nd, 1947
No Programs Scheduled

Wednesday, December 3rd, 1947
 5:00PM Children’s Program
 7:25PM Program Review
 7:30PM [Kraft Television Theatre] Drama: Parlor Story
 8:30PM In the [Kelvinator] Kitchen–Alma Kitchell
 9:00PM Current Opinion
 9:15PM Downtown Quarterback: Presentation of Lambert Trophy to Bob Higgins,
Coach of Penn State

Thursday, December 4th, 1947
 8:00PM Meet the Press: Sen. Robert A. Taft
 8:30PM Television News
 8:40PM Musical Merry-Go-Round
 9:00PM You Are an Artist-Jon Gnagy
 9:10PM [Television Playhouse] Drama: Last of My Solid Gold Watches with John Stuart Dudley and Others
 9:35PM Eyewitness

Friday, December 5th, 1947
 1:00PM [Swift] Home Service Club: Tex and Jinx
 1:30PM Television Newsreel
 8:00PM Football–Lou Little
 8:20PM Film: The World in Your Home
 8:30PM Department Store Shopping Tips
 8:45PM Preliminary Boxing, Madison Square Garden
10:00PM Heavyweight Championship Bout; Joe Louis vs. Joe Walcott

Saturday, December 6th, 1947
No Programs Scheduled

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.


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One Reply to “WNBT Schedule, Week of November 30th, 1947”

  1. AT&T had just completed a microwave link between New York and Boston, by the time of the fight, even though there were no TV stations on-the-air there as of yet.

    Two Boston radio stations (WBZ and WNAC) had received construction permits for TV stations. I have read articles that WBZ held a public screening of the fight for invited guests in the old WBZ Radio studios in the downtown Hotel Bradford. WBZ’s television station would become an NBC-TV affiliate (as WBZ Radio was then affiliated with NBC Radio) when it went on the air the following June (and would remain so until WBZ parent Westinghouse bought CBS in early 1995).

    Although WNAC when it went on the air the next summer wouldn’t be an NBC affiliate, I would think their studios and control rooms probably were “hooked up” to the network lines and employees there probably also got to see the bout.

    Since Baltimore was undoubtedly “on the coaxial cable” and I believe had a station on the air (WMAR?) by then, I would think that if it were on the air, WMAR also would have carried the fight.

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