1958–59 United States network television schedule

The 1958–59 United States network television schedule was for the period that began in September 1958 and ran through March 1959.

According to television historians Castleman and Podrazik (1982), the networks' schedules were thrown "into complete chaos" by the quiz show scandals that erupted during fall 1958. At first only one series, Dotto, was implicated in the game-fixing charges. Ed Hilgemeier, a contestant on the program, filed a complaint with the show's sponsor, Colgate-Palmolive. Colgate withdrew its sponsorship of the Tuesday evening (on NBC) and daytime (on CBS) versions of Dotto, and the show did not appear on either network's fall 1958 schedule.^[1]

The $64,000 Challenge (on CBS) similarly did not appear that fall, and by November, The $64,000 Question (CBS) and Twenty One (NBC) were also removed from the network schedules, amidst accusations of game rigging. According to Castleman and Podrazik, "NBC and CBS were adamant in their own statements of innocence" since they only aired, and did not produce, the rigged series. They also claimed the cancellations were due to low ratings, not because of game-fixing accusations. ABC had few game shows on its 1958–59 schedule, and "eagerly pointed out" its innocence in the quiz show mess. The network affirmed its commitment to Westerns, which could not be rigged.^[1]

Western TV series continued to be very popular with audiences, and for the first time, the three highest-rated programs on television, CBS's Gunsmoke, NBC's Wagon Train, and CBS's Have Gun – Will Travel, were all Westerns. ABC's new series, The Rifleman even hit #4, quite a feat for a network which had had no series in the top 30 five years earlier.^[2]

Although ABC, CBS, and NBC remained the largest television networks in the United States, they were not the only companies operating television networks during this era. In May 1958, Ely Landau, president of the NTA Film Network, announced an NTA Film Network schedule for the 1958–59 season. The schedule consisted of three and a half hours of programs on Friday nights: Man Without a Gun at 7:30, followed by This is Alice at 8:00, then How to Marry a Millionaire at 8:30, and Premiere Performance from 9:00 to 11:00. Although the NTA Film Network had over 100 affiliate stations, only 17 agreed to air the Friday night schedule "in pattern" (during the scheduled time).^[3] Other NTA Network affiliates carried the network's programs whenever they had available slots, and outside of Gun, Alice, Millionaire and Performance, NTA's programs were aired whenever the local stations preferred. National Educational Television (NET), the predecessor to PBS founded in 1952, also allowed its affiliate stations to air programs out of pattern.

All times are Eastern and Pacific. New fall series are highlighted in bold.

Each of the 30 highest-rated shows is listed with its rank and rating as determined by Nielsen Media Research.^[2]

     Yellow indicates the programs in the top 10 for the season.

     Cyan indicates the programs in the top 20 for the season.

     Magenta indicates the programs in the top 30 for the season.

Sunday

The Canadian-produced anthology series Encounter aired only five episodes on ABC before cancellation.

Richard Diamond, Private Detective, starring David Janssen, returned after a seven-month absence for a third season, the episodes of which aired on the CBS Sunday schedule from February 15 to June 21, 1959, at 10 p.m. Eastern in the former time slot for The $64,000 Question, which was suddenly cancelled in November 1958 at the height of the quiz show scandals.

Monday

Note: The Westinghouse Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show was later rebroadcast and syndicated as The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour. In most areas, Douglas Edwards with the News and The Huntley-Brinkley Report aired at 6:45 p.m.

Tuesday

Confession, with host Jack Wyatt, premiered as a summer replacement on ABC on June 19, 1958, in advance of the 1958/59 television season. It ended on January 13, 1959, when it was succeeded by the paranormal anthology series Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond.

Wednesday

(*) Formerly known as The Milton Berle Show.

Thursday

• The 90-minute series Jazz Party aired from May 8 to December 25, 1958 on WNTA-TV Thursdays at 9pm ET

Friday

Note: On January 9, Phillies Jackpot Bowling premiered in the 10:45-11 p.m. spot on NBC, while on March 13 Tombstone Territory replaced Man with a Camera on the ABC schedule.

Saturday

Note: On NBC, Brains & Brawn was replaced on January 3, 1959 by The D.A.'s Man. On CBS, Markham premiered Saturday, May 2, 1959 at 10:30 pm.

References

• 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.