1960–61 United States network television schedule

The 1960–61 United States network television schedule was for the period that began in September 1960 and ran through March 1961.

Between January and June 1960, members of the Writers Guild of America went on strike, affecting the fall schedule. The networks had numerous holes, which were mostly filled with unscripted material, some of which included political programs in anticipation of the forthcoming presidential election. CBS gave the unprecedented step of showing episodes from previous seasons of popular series. Some timeslots however (particularly that of 10:30-11) were ceded to stations.

On May 9, 1961, at the annual convention of the National Association of Broadcasters new Federal Communications Commission chairman Newton Minow delivered a scathing speech directed at the "procession of game shows, violence, audience participation shows, formula comedies about totally unbelievable families, blood and thunder, mayhem, violence, sadism, murder, Western badmen, Western goodmen, private eyes, gangsters, more violence, and cartoons, and, endlessly, commercials, many screaming, cajoling, and offending, and, most of all, boredom [...] Is there one network president in this room who claims he can't do better?"[1] Minow called TV a "vast wasteland"; the phrase was picked up by the press and resulted in bad publicity for the networks and for the television industry as a whole. According to television historians Castleman and Podrazik (1982), the networks were in a bind, though: they had already purchased their fall 1961 programs and had locked in their 1961–62 schedules. "The best the networks could do was slot a few more public affairs shows, paint rosy pictures for 1962–63, and prepare to endure the barrage of criticism they felt certain would greet the new season."[1]

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

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

Network		7:00 PM	7:30 PM	8:00 PM	8:30 PM	9:00 PM	9:30 PM	10:00 PM	10:30 PM
ABC	Fall	Walt Disney Presents (began 6:30)	Maverick		The Lawman (26/22.3)	The Rebel	The Islanders		Winston Churchill: The Valiant Years
ABC	Spring	Walt Disney Presents (began 6:30)	Maverick		The Lawman (26/22.3)	The Rebel	The Asphalt Jungle		Winston Churchill: The Valiant Years
CBS		Lassie	Dennis the Menace (11/26.1)	The Ed Sullivan Show (15/25.0)		General Electric Theater (20/23.4)	The Jack Benny Show (10/26.2)	Candid Camera (7/27.3)	What's My Line? (22/23.1)
NBC	Fall	Shirley Temple's Storybook (Color)		National Velvet	The Tab Hunter Show	The Dinah Shore Chevy Show (Color)		The Loretta Young Show	This Is Your Life
NBC	Summer	Shirley Temple's Storybook (Color)		National Velvet	The Tab Hunter Show	The Chevy Mystery Show (Color)		The Loretta Young Show	This Is Your Life

Note: ABC aired the interim The Walter Winchell Show at 10:30 p.m. from early October until early November.

Monday

Network		7:00 PM	7:30 PM	8:00 PM	8:30 PM	9:00 PM	9:30 PM	10:00 PM	10:30 PM
ABC		Local	Cheyenne (28/22.0) / Sugarfoot / Bronco		Surfside 6		Adventures in Paradise		Peter Gunn (29/21.9)
CBS	Fall	7:00 Local / 7:15 Douglas Edwards with the News	To Tell the Truth	Pete and Gladys	Bringing Up Buddy	The Danny Thomas Show (12/25.9)	The Andy Griffith Show (4/27.8)	Hennesey	Face the Nation
CBS	Summer	7:00 Local / 7:15 Douglas Edwards with the News	To Tell the Truth	Pete and Gladys	Bringing Up Buddy	The Danny Thomas Show (12/25.9)	The Andy Griffith Show (4/27.8)	Glenn Miller Time	Face the Nation
NBC	Fall	7:00 Local / 7:15 Huntley-Brinkley Report	Riverboat		Tales of Wells Fargo	Klondike	Dante	The Barbara Stanwyck Show	Jackpot Bowling starring Milton Berle (Color)
	Winter		The Americans			Acapulco	Dante
	Spring		The Americans			Acapulco	Concentration

Note: On CBS, Presidential Countdown aired as an interim series, 10:30–11 p.m. in September and October until the November 8th election. In some areas, Douglas Edwards with the News and The Huntley-Brinkley Report aired at 6:45 p.m. Peter Gunn moved from NBC to ABC in the fall of 1960.

Tuesday

This is the first broadcast of The Bugs Bunny Show.

Network	7:00 PM	7:30 PM	8:00 PM	8:30 PM	9:00 PM	9:30 PM	10:00 PM	10:30 PM
ABC	Expedition!	The Bugs Bunny Show	The Rifleman (27/22.1)	The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp	Stagecoach West		Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond	Local
CBS	7:00 Local / 7:15 Douglas Edwards with the News	Local	Father Knows Best (repeats)	The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (23/23.0)	The Tom Ewell Show	The Red Skelton Show (19/24.0) (Occasionally in Color)	The Garry Moore Show (25/22.7)
NBC	7:00 Local / 7:15 Huntley-Brinkley Report	Laramie		Alfred Hitchcock Presents	Thriller		Specials (Most in Color)

Wednesday

Network		7:00 PM	7:30 PM	8:30 PM	9:00 PM	9:30 PM	10:00 PM	10:30 PM
ABC		Local	Hong Kong	The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet	Hawaiian Eye		Naked City
CBS	Fall	7:00 Local / 7:15 Douglas Edwards with the News	The Aquanauts	Wanted: Dead or Alive	My Sister Eileen	I've Got a Secret	Armstrong Circle Theatre / The United States Steel Hour
CBS	Spring	7:00 Local / 7:15 Douglas Edwards with the News	The Aquanauts	Danger Man	My Sister Eileen	I've Got a Secret	Armstrong Circle Theatre / The United States Steel Hour
NBC	Fall	7:00 Local / 7:15 Huntley-Brinkley Report	Wagon Train (2/34.2)	The Price Is Right (8/27.0) (Tied with The Untouchables) (Color)	Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall (Color)		Peter Loves Mary	Local
NBC	Summer	7:00 Local / 7:15 Huntley-Brinkley Report	Wagon Train (2/34.2)		Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall (Color)		It Could Be You	Local

Thursday

Network		7:00 PM	7:30 PM	8:00 PM	8:30 PM	9:00 PM	9:30 PM	10:00 PM	10:30 PM
ABC		Local	Guestward, Ho!	The Donna Reed Show	The Real McCoys (5/27.7)	My Three Sons (13/25.8) (Tied with 77 Sunset Strip)	The Untouchables (8/27.0) (Tied with The Price Is Right)		Take A Good Look
CBS	Fall	7:00 Local / 7:15 Douglas Edwards with the News	The Witness		Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater	Angel	The Ann Sothern Show	Person to Person	The DuPont Show with June Allyson
CBS	Winter	7:00 Local / 7:15 Douglas Edwards with the News	The Witness		Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater	Gunslinger		Person to Person	The DuPont Show with June Allyson
NBC	Fall	7:00 Local / 7:15 Huntley-Brinkley Report	Outlaws		Bat Masterson	Bachelor Father	The Ford Show (24/22.9) (Color)	The Groucho Show* (Sporadically in Color)	Local
NBC	Summer	7:00 Local / 7:15 Huntley-Brinkley Report	Outlaws		Bat Masterson	Bachelor Father	Great Ghost Tales (Color)	The Groucho Show* (Sporadically in Color)	Local

* formerly You Bet Your Life

Friday

Network		7:00 PM	7:30 PM	8:00 PM	8:30 PM	9:00 PM	9:30 PM	10:00 PM	10:30 PM
ABC		Local	Matty's Funday Funnies	Harrigan and Son	The Flintstones (18/24.3)	77 Sunset Strip (13/25.8) (Tied with My Three Sons)		The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor	The Law and Mr. Jones
CBS		7:00 Local / 7:15 Douglas Edwards with the News	Rawhide (6/27.5)		Route 66 (30/21.7)		Mr. Garlund	The Twilight Zone	Eyewitness to History
NBC	Fall	7:00 Local / 7:15 Huntley-Brinkley Report	Dan Raven		The Westerner	The Bell Telephone Hour (Color) / NBC News Specials (alternating)		Michael Shayne
	Winter		Happy	One Happy Family	Westinghouse Playhouse Starring Nanette Fabray and Wendell Corey	The Bell Telephone Hour / Sing Along with Mitch (alternating) (Color)
	Spring			Five Star Jubilee (Color/May 12)
	Summer			One Happy Family	Five Star Jubilee (Color)	The Lawless Years	Westinghouse Playhouse Starring Nanette Fabray and Wendell Corey
	Follow-up			One Happy Family	Five Star Jubilee (Color)	The Lawless Years	Westinghouse Preview Theatre

Saturday

Network		7:00 PM	7:30 PM	8:30 PM	9:00 PM	9:30 PM	10:00 PM	10:30 PM
ABC		Local	The Roaring 20s	Leave It to Beaver	The Lawrence Welk Show		10:00 The Fight of the Week / 10:45 Make That Spare
CBS		Local	Perry Mason (16/24.9)	Checkmate (21/23.2)		Have Gun – Will Travel (3/30.9)	Gunsmoke (1/37.3)	Local
NBC	Fall	Local	Bonanza (17/24.8) (Color)	The Tall Man	The Deputy	The Campaign and the Candidates		Man from Interpol
NBC	Follow-up	Local	Bonanza (17/24.8) (Color)	The Tall Man	The Deputy	The Nation's Future		Local

Note: On NBC, The Campaign and the Candidates aired as an interim series, 9:30–10:30 p.m., from mid-September until the November 8th election.

gollark: Bonds?

gollark: Stock trade good. Lack of stock trade bad.

gollark: ...

gollark: If you have too much it explodes.

gollark: Idea: money made of uranium.

References

Castleman, Harry; Podrazik, Walter J. (1982). Watching TV: Four Decades of American Television. New York: McGraw-Hill. pp. 139–146. ISBN 0-07-010269-4.
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. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4.

Additional sources

Castleman, H. & Podrazik, W. (1982). Watching TV: Four Decades of American Television. New York: McGraw-Hill. 314 pp.
McNeil, Alex. Total Television. Fourth edition. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-024916-8.
Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows (9th ed.). New York: Ballantine. ISBN 0-345-31864-1.

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[CP1982-1] Castleman, Harry; Podrazik, Walter J. (1982). Watching TV: Four Decades of American Television. New York: McGraw-Hill. pp. 139–146. ISBN 0-07-010269-4.

[BM2-2] 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. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4.