1972–73 United States network television schedule
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The following is the 1972–73 network television schedule for the three major English language commercial
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.[1]
- 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.
Note: This was the first full season in which all networks, on every day of the week except for Sunday, started airing programs at 8:00 instead of 7:30, as dictated by the FCC under its Prime Time Access Rule, intended to increase diversity in programming.
PBS is not included; member stations have local flexibility over most of their schedules and broadcast times for network shows may vary.
Sunday
Network | 7:30 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
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ABC | Local | Kung Fu )
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The ABC Sunday Night Movie (23/20.0) (Tied with The Rookies) | |||||
CBS | Fall | Anna and the King | M*A*S*H | The Sandy Duncan Show | The New Dick Van Dyke Show | Mannix | Local | |
Winter | The New Dick Van Dyke Show | Mannix | Barnaby Jones (25/19.9) (Tied with The Little People and The ABC Wednesday Movie of the Week) | |||||
NBC | Fall | The Wonderful World of Disney (9/23.5) | ) | Night Gallery | ||||
Spring | Escape | |||||||
April | Night Gallery |
Note: 60 Minutes aired at 6:00-7:00 pm on CBS from January to June 1973.
Monday
Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
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ABC | Fall | The Rookies (23/20.0) (Tied with The ABC Sunday Night Movie) |
ABC NFL Monday Night Football (18/21.0) | ||||
Winter | ABC Monday Night Movie (29/19.2) (Tied with Kung Fu )
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CBS | Fall | Gunsmoke (7/23.6) (Tied with The Mary Tyler Moore Show) |
Here's Lucy (15/21.9) | The Doris Day Show | The New Bill Cosby Show | ||
Spring | Medical Center | ||||||
NBC | Fall | Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In | NBC Monday Night at the Movies (28/19.3) | ||||
Summer | The Baseball World of Joe Garagiola (8:00) / Monday Night Baseball (8:15)
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Tuesday
Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
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ABC | Temperatures Rising | ABC Tuesday Movie of the Week (17/21.5) | Marcus Welby, M.D. (13/22.9) | ||||
CBS | Maude (4/24.7) | Hawaii Five-O (3/25.2) | The New CBS Tuesday Night Movie | ||||
NBC | Fall | Bonanza | The Bold Ones: The New Doctors | NBC Reports / First Tuesday* / NBC White Paper / America: A Personal History of the United States | |||
Winter | NBC Tuesday Night at the Movies |
Wednesday
Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
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ABC | Fall | The Paul Lynde Show | ABC Wednesday Movie of the Week (25/19.9) (Tied with Barnaby Jones and The Little People) |
The Julie Andrews Hour | |||
Winter | Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law | ||||||
Summer | Thicker than Water | ||||||
August | Love Thy Neighbor | ||||||
CBS | Fall | The Carol Burnett Show (22/20.3) | Medical Center (19/20.6) (Tied with The Partridge Family and The Waltons) |
Cannon (14/22.4) | |||
Winter | The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour | ||||||
Spring | Dan August | ||||||
NBC | Adam-12 (11/23.3) | Search |
Note: Dan August consisted of reruns of the 1970-1971 ABC series.
Thursday
Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
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ABC | Fall | The Mod Squad | The Men: Assignment Vienna / The Delphi Bureau / Jigsaw |
Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law | |||
Winter | Kung Fu (29/19.2) (Tied with The ABC Monday Movie and The F.B.I.) |
The Streets of San Francisco | |||||
CBS | The Waltons (19/20.6) (Tied with The Partridge Family and Medical Center) |
CBS Thursday Night Movie | |||||
NBC | Fall | The Flip Wilson Show (12/23.1) | Ironside (10/23.4) | The Dean Martin Show | |||
Summer | The Helen Reddy Show | Dean Martin Presents Music Country |
Friday
Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
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ABC | Fall | The Brady Bunch | The Partridge Family (19/20.6) (Tied with The Waltons and Medical Center) |
Room 222 | The Odd Couple | Love, American Style | |
Summer | The Odd Couple | Love Thy Neighbor | |||||
Follow-up | The Corner Bar | ||||||
CBS | Fall | The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour | The CBS Friday Night Movie | ||||
December | Mission: Impossible | ||||||
Summer | 60 Minutes | ||||||
NBC | Fall | Sanford and Son (2/27.6) | The Little People (25/19.9) (Tied with Barnaby Jones and The ABC Wednesday Movie of the Week) |
Ghost Story | Banyon | ||
Winter | Circle of Fear | The Bobby Darin Show |
Note: Ghost Story was retooled slightly and retitled Circle of Fear (under the same production team) with the episode broadcast January 5, 1973.
Saturday
Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
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ABC | Fall | Alias Smith and Jones | The Streets of San Francisco | The Sixth Sense | |||
Winter | Here We Go Again | A Touch of Grace | The Julie Andrews Hour | The Men: Assignment Vienna / The Delphi Bureau / Jigsaw | |||
May | The Paul Lynde Show | The Strauss Family | |||||
Summer | The Burns and Schreiber Comedy Hour | ||||||
CBS | Fall | All in the Family (1/33.3) | Bridget Loves Bernie (5/24.2) (Tied with The NBC Sunday Mystery Movie) |
The Mary Tyler Moore Show (7/23.6) (Tied with Gunsmoke) |
The Bob Newhart Show (16/21.8) | Mission: Impossible | |
December | The Carol Burnett Show (22/20.3) | ||||||
Summer | Mission: Impossible | ||||||
NBC | Emergency! | NBC Saturday Night at the Movies |
By network
ABC
Returning Series
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New Series
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Not returning from 1971–72:
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CBS
NBC
Returning Series
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New Series
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Not returning from 1971–72:
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Note: The * indicates that the program was introduced in midseason.
References
- ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4.
- ^ "Major news project mapped by NBC-TV" (PDF). Broadcasting. March 20, 1972. p. 43. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
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 (1985). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows (3rd ed.). New York: Ballantine. ISBN 0-345-31864-1.