The following is the 1957–58 network television schedule for the three major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1957 through March 1958. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1956–57 season.
As in previous seasons, both CBS and ABC continued to add Westerns to their schedule, filling prime time with as many "oaters" (as they were derisively called) as possible. In addition to several returning Westerns which the network retained on its fall 1957 schedule, ABC's new western series included Sugarfoot and Broken Arrow on Tuesday nights, Tombstone Territory on Wednesdays, Colt .45 on Fridays, and Maverick on Sundays.
ABC, third in the network Nielsen ratings, placed its new Western Maverick in a difficult time slot: Sunday night against two hit series: The Steve Allen Show on NBC, and The Ed Sullivan Show on CBS. ABC aired Maverick one half-hour prior to the Allen and Sullivan programs; the strategy was designed to "hook the audience before it fell into its usual viewing habits". This risky approach proved successful, as CBS' powerhouse Sunday night lineup slipped in the ratings, with Sullivan's show barely missing the top 30 after being among the ten most-watched programs of the previous season.
NBC, late to the Western format, also began plugging Westerns into its fall schedule. New NBC Western series debuting in the 1957–58 season included Wagon Train, The Restless Gun, and The Californians (though one NBC executive insisted The Californians was not a Western but a drama set in California in the 1850s).
Another programming shift occurred at NBC: the network's flagship news program, The Huntley-Brinkley Report, moved to the 7:15 PM weekday timeslot, for the first time going head to head against both ABC's and CBS's news programs.Castleman, H. and Podrazik, W. (1984) The TV Schedule Book: Four Decades of Network Programming from Sign-on to Sign-off. McGraw-Hill. pg 79-82. The face-off between the three networks' news programs would become the standard model for U.S. broadcast television; the three networks still air their network news programs against one another.
1958 saw a number of executive changes at the networks; these presidential shifts would affect the network television schedules. Oliver Treyz became the president of ABC on February 17, Louis G. Cowan became the president of CBS on March 12, and NBC programmer Robert Kintner became the president of NBC on July 11. Dr. Allen B. DuMont resigned as chairman of the board of the DuMont Broadcasting Corporation on May 13, and the name of the company was changed to Metropolitan Broadcasting Corporation. According to Castleman and Podrazik (1982) the final DuMont Network program, Monday Night Fights aired for the last time on August 4, 1958, carried on only five stations nationwide. NBC's Kraft Television Theatre, which had debuted in 1947 and was the oldest program still left on television, was cancelled in spring 1958. It was the dawn of a new era in television; producer David Susskind, who had produced KTT at the end, would call 1958 "the year of the miserable drivel".
Each of the 30 highest-rated shows is listed with its rank and rating as determined by Nielsen Media Research.Highest-rated series is based on the annual top-rated programs list compiled by Nielsen Media Research and reported in: Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows (9th ed.). New York: Ballantine. .
Legend
Schedule New series are highlighted in bold. Repeat airings or same-day rebroadcasts are indicated by . All times are U.S. Eastern and Pacific Time (except for some live sports or events). Subtract one hour for Central, Mountain, Alaska and Hawaii–Aleutian times.
Sunday Network7:00 p.m.7:30 p.m.8:00 p.m.8:30 p.m.9:00 p.m.9:30 p.m.10:00 p.m.10:30 p.m. ABC Fall You Asked For It Maverick Bowling Stars Open Hearing All-American Football Game of the Week Scotland Yard Winter Adventure at Scott Island Spring The Mike Wallace Interview Summer Anyone Can Play CBS Lassie (22/27.8) The Jack Benny Show (28/27.1) / Bachelor Father The Ed Sullivan Show (27/27.3) General Electric Theatre (7/31.5) Alfred Hitchcock Presents (12/30.3)(Tied with Cheyenne) The $64,000 Challenge What's My Line? NBC Fall The Original Amateur Hour Sally The Steve Allen Show (In COLOR) The Dinah Shore Chevy Show (In COLOR) The Loretta Young Show (30/26.6)(Tied with Zorro and The Real McCoys) Winter My Friend Flicka (In COLOR) No Warning! Summer The Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé Show (In COLOR) The Chevy Show (In COLOR) Decision Notes: On CBS, Air Power, narrated by Walter Cronkite, aired from 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. from May 4 to October 19, 1958. It consisted entirely of reruns of the series from the 1956–1957 season. On NBC, the summer anthology series Decision consisted of a mix of unsold television pilots and reruns of episodes of The Ford Television Theatre, Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, and Screen Directors Playhouse.
Monday Network7:00 p.m.7:30 p.m.8:00 p.m.8:30 p.m.9:00 p.m.9:30 p.m.10:00 p.m.10:30 p.m. ABC Fall Local programming (7:00) / American Bandstand The Guy Mitchell Show Bold Journey The Voice of Firestone Lawrence Welk's Top Tunes and New Talent Winter O.S.S. Love That Jill Anybody Can Play This is MusicSpring American Odyssey Campaign Roundup Summer Cowtown Rodeo Polka Go-Round CBS Local programming (7:00) / The Adventures of Robin Hood The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts The Danny Thomas Show (2/35.3) December Bride (9/30.7) Studio One in Hollywood NBC Fall Local programming (7:00) / The Price Is Right (In COLOR) The Restless Gun (8/31.4) Tales of Wells Fargo (3/35.2) Twenty-One (26/27.6) Turn of Fate / Goodyear Theatre Suspicion Summer Haggis Baggis (In COLOR)
Tuesday Network7:00 p.m.7:30 p.m.8:00 p.m.8:30 p.m.9:00 p.m.9:30 p.m.10:00 p.m.10:30 p.m. ABC Fall Local programming (7:00) / Cheyenne (12/30.3)(Tied with Alfred Hitchcock Presents) / Sugarfoot (23/27.7)(Tied with Wagon Train and Father Knows Best) The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (6/32.6) Broken Arrow Telephone Time The West Point Story Summer Confession CBS Fall Local programming (7:00) / Name That Tune The Phil Silvers Show The Eve Arden Show To Tell the Truth The Red Skelton Show (15/28.9) (In COLOR) The $64,000 Question (19/28.1)(Tied with This Is Your Life) Assignment: Foreign Legion Winter Late winter Mr. Adams and EveSummer Bid 'N' Buy NBC Fall Local programming (7:00) / The Nat King Cole Show The Eddie Fisher Show (In COLOR) / The George Gobel Show (In COLOR) Meet McGraw The Bob Cummings Show The Californians Summer The Investigator (In COLOR) DottoAugust Colgate Theatre
Notes: Confession, with host Jack Wyatt, began as a local program in the Dallas, Texas, market in early 1957. It premiered as a summer replacement on ABC on June 19, 1958, in advance of the 1958–59 television season. Colgate Theatre consisted on unsold pilots.
Wednesday Network7:00 p.m.7:30 p.m.8:00 p.m.8:30 p.m.9:00 p.m.9:30 p.m.10:00 p.m.10:30 p.m. ABC Fall Local programming (7:00) / Disneyland Tombstone Territory The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet The Walter Winchell File The Wednesday Night Fights (10:00) / Famous Fights (10:45) Winter Date with the Angels Late winter The Betty White Show CBS Fall Local programming (7:00) / I Love Lucy The Big Record (In COLOR) The Millionaire (17/28.5) I've Got a Secret (5/33.4) Armstrong Circle Theatre / The United States Steel Hour Spring Leave It to Beaver The Big Record (In COLOR) NBC Fall Local programming (7:00) / Wagon Train (23/27.7)(Tied with Sugarfoot and Father Knows Best) Father Knows Best (23/27.7)(Tied with Sugarfoot and Wagon Train) Kraft Television Theatre (In COLOR) This Is Your Life (19/28.1)(Tied with The $64,000 Question) Summer It Could Be You
Thursday Network7:00 p.m.7:30 p.m.8:00 p.m.8:30 p.m.9:00 p.m.9:30 p.m.10:00 p.m.10:30 p.m. ABC Fall Local programming (7:00) / Circus Boy Zorro (30/26.6)(Tied with The Loretta Young Show and The Real McCoys) The Real McCoys (30/26.6)(Tied with The Loretta Young Show and Zorro) The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom O.S.S. Navy Log Local programmingWinter Navy Log Make Me LaughSummer The Andy Williams Show Confession CBS Fall Local programming (7:00) / Sergeant Preston of the Yukon Harbormaster Climax! (In COLOR) Playhouse 90 Winter Richard Diamond, Private Detective NBC Fall Local programming (7:00) / Tic-Tac-Dough (In COLOR) You Bet Your Life (10/30.6) Dragnet The People’s Choice The Ford Show (14/29.7) The Lux Show Starring Rosemary Clooney (In COLOR) The Jane Wyman Show Summer The Price Is Right (In COLOR) Music Bingo
Notes: On CBS, Shower of Stars (In COLOR) aired on an irregular basis at 8:30 p.m. From January 2 to June 26, 1958, Richard Diamond, Private Detective, starring David Janssen, aired for a second season on the CBS Thursday schedule at 8 p.m. Eastern. It returned to the air for a third season from February to September 1959.
Friday Network7:00 p.m.7:30 p.m.8:00 p.m.8:30 p.m.9:00 p.m.9:30 p.m.10:00 p.m.10:30 p.m. ABC Fall Local programming (7:00) / The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin The Adventures of Jim Bowie The Patrice Munsel Show The Frank Sinatra Show Date with the Angels Colt .45 Winter The Walter Winchell File CBS Fall Local programming (7:00) / Leave It to Beaver Trackdown Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre (21/27.9) Mr. Adams and Eve Schlitz Playhouse The Lineup (18/28.4) Person to Person Late winter The Phil Silvers Show Mid-spring Summer The Boing Boing Show NBC Fall Local programming (7:00) / Saber of London The Court of Last Resort The Life of Riley M Squad The Thin Man Gillette Cavalcade of Sports (10:00) / Red Barber's Corner (10:45) Spring Jefferson Drum Summer The Big Game
Saturday Network7:30 p.m.8:00 p.m.8:30 p.m.9:00 p.m.9:30 p.m.10:00 p.m.10:30 p.m. ABC Fall Keep It in the Family Country Music Jubilee Lawrence Welk's Dodge Dancing Party The Mike Wallace Interview Late winter The Dick Clark Saturday Night Beech-Nut Show Midwestern Hayride Summer The Billy Graham Crusade CBS Fall Perry Mason Dick and the Duchess The Gale Storm Show (16/28.8) Have Gun – Will Travel (4/33.7) Gunsmoke (1/43.1) Mid-spring Top Dollar NBC Fall People Are Funny (29/27.0) The Perry Como Show (11/30.5) (In COLOR) The Polly Bergen Show / Club Oasis The Gisele MacKenzie Show What's It For? Your Hit Parade (In COLOR) Winter The Original Amateur HourSpring Turning Point Summer The Bob Crosby Show (In COLOR) / Club Oasis with Spike Jones The Joseph Cotten Show Notes: Opening Night consisted of reruns of episodes of the ABC series Ford Theatre from the 1956–1957 season. Turning Point was a dramatic anthology series consisting of two unsold pilots and reruns of episodes from other anthology series. The Joseph Cotten Show consisted of reruns of the 1956–1957 series On Trial.
By network
ABC
Returning Series The Adventures of Jim Bowie The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet The Adventures of Rin-Tin-Tin The Billy Graham Crusade Bold Journey Broken Arrow Cheyenne Circus Boy (moved from NBC) Country Music Jubilee Date with the Angels Disneyland Famous Fights John Daly and the News Jubilee USA Lawrence Welk's Dodge Dancing Party Lawrence Welk's Top Tunes and New Talent The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp Midwestern Hayride Navy Log Open Hearing Telephone Time The Voice of Firestone The Wednesday Night Fights The West Point Story (moved from CBS) You Asked for It
New Series All-American Football Game of the Week American Bandstand American Odyssey * The Andy Williams Show * Anybody Can Play * The Betty White Show * Bowling Stars (moved from NBC as National Bowling Championships) Campaign Roundup * Colt .45 Confession * Cowtown Rodeo * The Dick Clark Show * The Frank Sinatra Show The Guy Mitchell Show Adventure at Scott Island (moved from CBS as Harbourmaster) Keep It in the Family