Retro; New York City, Thursday, June 13, 1946

[Bob1370]

Source; New York Times

Stations;

2-WCBW (CBS) (now WCBS-TV)
4-WNBT (NBC) (now WNBC)
5-WABD (DuMont) (now WNYW-Fox)

MORNING

No programming on any station

AFTERNOON

No programming on any station

EVENING

7:50
4-Sign-on; Television Reporter (news)
8:00
4-Hour Glass (variety); Helen Parrish, Eddie Mayehoff, hosts (this was the first big-budget network variety show in TV history, seen in all four cities linked to the NBC network in 1946--and was a prototype for later major variety shows like Milton Berle and Red Skelton)
5-Sign-on; Chime Time (variety; no further information)
8:15
2-Sign-on; Bob McKee, news
8:30
2-Cartoons
5-Films
8:45
2-Consumers Quiz
9:00
4-Famous Fights (boxing; film highlights)
5-Red Benson (variety)

All stations signed off by 10 PM.

With about 100,000 TV sets in service nationwide in 1946, a majority of them in the New York City area (the only area with more than one station in operation and with at least some stations on the air every day at the time), TV schedules on both the local and network level were limited--and would remain so until TV service expanded to more markets and more homes were equipped with TV sets in the years between 1946 and 1949.

 

[bpatrick]

Trivia note: Red Benson was the first host of "Name That Tune," starting
on NBC radio in December 1952 and continuing through the first (1953-54)
television season, also on NBC. When the show moved to CBS in 1954,
Bill Cullen became host (I think Benson was under contract to NBC; somebody
from Philadelphia straighten me out on this), but then producer Harry Salter
wanted a singing host, and the one he found in 1955 made "Name That Tune"
one of the most popular shows of the decade: George DeWitt.

I have read that Benson bore a strong physical and vocal resemblance to
one of baseball's greatest announcers: Red Barber.