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Click to Select a Page... Main Page How To Submit Listings The Daytime Timeslot Graveyard Early AM Main ABC Early AM CBS Early AM NBC Early AM ABC 1948-Present ABC 1948-51 ABC 1951-54 ABC 1955-57 ABC 1958 ABC 1959 ABC 1960-64 ABC 1965-69 ABC 1970-73 ABC 1974-1979 ABC 1980-84 CBS 1947-Present CBS 1947-49 CBS 1950 CBS 1951 CBS 1952 CBS 1953 CBS 1954 CBS 1955 CBS 1956 CBS 1957 CBS 1958 CBS 1959 NBC 1947-Present NBC 1947-1949 NBC 1950 NBC 1951 NBC 1952 NBC 1953 NBC 1954 NBC 1955 NBC 1956 NBC 1957 NBC 1958 NBC 1959 NBC 1960-69 Queen for a Day on NBC 1956-1960 DuMont 1949-1955 DuMont 1949 DuMont 1950 DuMont 1951 DuMont 1952 DuMont 1953-1955 Three Network Schedules 1948-1969 Intro re: Pacific Time Zone 1958 Eastern/Central Part 1 1958 Eastern/Central Part 2 1958 Eastern/Central Part 3 1959 Eastern/Central Part 1 1959 Eastern/Central Part 2 1959 Eastern/Central Part 3 1959 Pacific 1960 Eastern/Central Part 1 1960 Eastern/Central Part 2 1960 Pacific Part 1 1960 Pacific Part 2 1961 Eastern/Central 1961 Pacific 1962 Eastern/Central 1962 Pacific 1963 Eastern/Central 1963 Pacific 1964 Eastern/Central 1964 Pacific 1965 Eastern/Central 1965 Pacific 1966 Eastern/Central 1966 Pacific 1967 Eastern/Central 1967 Pacific 1968 Eastern/Central 1968 Pacific 1969 Eastern/Central 1969 Pacific Three Network Schedules 1970-1979 Intro 1970 Eastern/Central 1970 Pacific 1971 Eastern/Central 1971 Pacific 1972 Eastern/Central 1972 Pacific 1973 Eastern/Central 1973 Pacific 1974 Eastern/Central 1974 Pacific 1975 Eastern/Central Part 1 1975 Pacific Part 1 1975 Eastern/Central Part 2 1975 Pacific Part 2 1976 Eastern/Central 1976 Pacific 1977 Eastern/Central Part 1 1977 Pacific Part 1 1977 Eastern/Central Part 2 1977 Pacific Part 2 1978 Eastern/Central 1978 Pacific 1979 Eastern/Central 1979 Pacific Three Network Schedules 1980-1989 Intro Mock Daytime Network TV: 1980s 1980 Eastern 1980 Central 1980 Pacific 1981 1982 Part 1 1982 Part 2 1983 Part 1 1983 Part 2 1984 Part 1 1984 Part 2 (Summer Olympic Weeks) 1984 Part 3 The Doctors Counterprogramming The Edge of Night Counterprogramming-Eastern and Pacific Times 1985 Part 1 1985 Part 2 1986 Part 1 1986 Part 2 1987 1988 1989 Three Network Schedules 1990-1999 Intro 1990 1991 Part 1 1991 Part 2 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997-1998 1999 Three Network Schedules 2000-2009 Intro 2000-2005 2006 2007-2008 Passions Counterprogramming 2009 Three Network Schedules 2010-2019 Intro 2010 2011-2015 2016-2019 Three Network Schedules 2020-2029 Intro 2020-2021 2022-2023 2024-2025 SDN Media News and More DavesFunStuff Dave's Fun Stuff Find your favorite TV shows with "Let's Watch TV!" Dave's Fun Stuff SDN Media News and More Dave's Fun Stuff Super Birthdays

The Daytime Timeslot Graveyard

Daytime Network TV is riddled with timeslots that have once been used by the networks, but were given up for various reasons such as lack of affiliate clearances or budget constraints.

At one time, ABC, CBS, and NBC programmed network daytime programming (other than morning news shows or expanded morning shows going late) from 10am ET (9am CT, and running until 6pm ET (5pm CT), with some breaks for local programming. Stations in the Mountain and Pacific time zones may start as early as 8am and end as late as 6pm in some cases. For all practical purposes, we'll use the Eastern time zone slotting of the shows. Subtract one hour for Central time zone air times.

As time wore on, networks began to give the latest daytime slots back to local stations as affiliates replaced the late time slots with syndicated or other local programming. The networks programmed mostly off-network reruns in the late time slots. Beginning with the 1990s decade, the networks also began giving up some of the early daytime slots back to affiliates as syndicated talk shows took off in popularity, and losing more network real estate to local programming or expanded hours of Today (NBC).

At one time or another, Fox, The WB, UPN, Dumont, and The CW programmed daytime programming with original programming mixed with reruns. The fledgling PAX network had some original daytime programming anchored by off-network reruns. Fox programmed as much as four hours, UPN about two, The WB about three, and The CW about two. Dumont had a big block of daytime programming, but went out of business in the middle of the 1950s decade. UPN and The WB merged to form The CW in 2006. For this purpose, we'll list only the networks ABC, CBS and NBC.

In the early days, NBC and ABC programmed daytime programming until 6pm, and CBS as late as 6:30pm. If you consider PAX, its block that could be considered daytime programming would run into 7pm when its prime time access and network prime time blocks would begin.

From 1972-1996, the three major networks sometimes would run a monthly hour-long Afterschool Special in the late afternoon hours ranging between 3pm and 5:30pm depending on affiliate, year, and time zone.

Of note: CBS ran no programming from 1pm to 1:30pm for local stations to run their own programming, but programmed from 12pm to 12:30pm from 1951 to 1979. On April 23, 1979, CBS shifted the half-hour local open window up an hour to the 12pm to 12:30pm time period and moved the program to the 1pm to 1:30pm time period where it's been ever since that date. At one time from 1961 until 1979, the 1pm to 1:30pm sat blank, and before that for a while beginning in 1957, CBS programmed a five minute newscast in that time period before moving it earlier in the day on October 2, 1961, and from 1957 and earlier going back to 1951, it programmed the whole half hour.

Some network affiliates may videotape a show from a feed while programming another show and run it later in another time slot, usually in an open time slot not used by the network such as 9am on the Eastern time zone or 4pm on the Central and Pacific time zones, or perhaps a midday open half-hour slot where local programming would otherwise be seen.

Of note: On September 25, 1961, NBC ran a five minute program titled "Kukla, Fran, and Ollie" in the 5pm-5:05pm time slot until June 22, 1962. Also, NBC left a big hole in the middle of its daytime schedule from the 1950s until 1977 when it filled the 1pm-1:30pm half hour slot with programming in exchange for a late time slot given to affiliates.

Of note: Although some CBS affiliates elect to air the CBS 3pm ET shows, such as "Guiding Light" and "Let's Make a Deal" in the 9am or 10am slots depending on time zone, that time slot is technically an advance feed, rather than a regular time slot of those particular shows. If "Deal" is pre-empted due to sports coverage, it won't be offered as an advance feed that day.

Of note: CBS ran Barker Bill's Cartoons from 1953 until 1955 Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 5pm to 5:15pm. Local programming aired on Tuesday and Thursday. Since less than 50 percent of a 30-minute time slot was used on an average five-day week, the timeslot was basically semi-dead, but still dead to us.

Of note: NBC now programs "Today 4th Hour" in the 10am-11am ET slot as of 2007 after it removed "Passions" from its schedule that year. Since it's considered an expansion of the "Today" franchise, the time slot is technically still dead to the regular daytime programming block.

Of note: as of 2022, NBC generally programs the 12-1pm ET hour with "NBC News Now," which offers four one-hour long feeds beginning at the top of each hour through the 3-4pm ET hour, may air live on stations across the nation as early as 11am in the Central and Pacific time zones, or 10am in the Mountain time zone, but the 3-4pm ET hour may be used by Pacific time zone stations to air from 12-1pm PT there. For practical purposes, the 12-1pm ET hour is listed as alive on this daytime programing block, replacing the 1-2pm block as "Days of Our Lives" moved to Peacock airings only.

What's weird about this schedule is that between 10am and 4pm ET, no more than two networks were airing programs at the same time, even with "Today 4th Hour" figured in, airing at 10am-11am ET on NBC opposite no programming on CBS or ABC.

On the Paficic Time Zone, however, "Today 4th Hour" competes with the two 11am ET shows from ABC and CBS, which air at 10am Pacific Time, as "Today 4th Hour" also airs at 10am Pacific Time.

am10:00-am10:30: ABC [never programmed for daytime blocks]
am10:00-am10:30: CBS [d. 09/13/1993 (last occupant: "The New Family Feud Challenge")]
am10:00-am10:30: NBC [d. 01/06/1997 (last occupant: "Real Life")]

am10:30-am11:00: ABC [d. 01/27/1969 (last occupant: "The Dick Cavett Show, aired from 10:30am-12pm ET, moved")]
am10:30-am11:00: CBS [d. 09/13/1993 (last occupant: "The New Family Feud Challenge")]
am10:30-am11:00: NBC [d. 01/06/1997 (last occupant: "Real Life")]

am11:00-am11:30: ABC alive
am11:00-am11:30: CBS alive
am11:00-am11:30: NBC [d. 09/06/1999 (last occupant: "Leeza")]

am11:30-pm12:00: ABC alive
am11:30-pm12:00: CBS alive
am11:30-pm12:00: NBC [d. 09/06/1999 (last occupant: "Leeza")]

pm12:00-pm12:30: ABC [d. 09/21/1992 (last occupant: "The Home Show, which aired from 11am-12:30pm ET, cut to 60 minutes")]
pm12:00-pm12:30: CBS [d. 04/23/1979 (last occupant: "The Young and the Restless, moved to a new time")]
pm12:00-pm12:30: NBC alive

pm12:30-pm01:00: ABC [d. 10/06/2003 (last occupant: "Port Charles")]
pm12:30-pm01:00: CBS alive
pm12:30-pm01:00: NBC alive

pm01:00-pm01:30: ABC alive
pm01:00-pm01:30: CBS alive
pm01:00-pm01:30: NBC [d. 09/12/2022 (last occupant: "Days of Our Lives, moved to Peacock")]

pm01:30-pm02:00: ABC alive
pm01:30-pm02:00: CBS alive
pm01:30-pm02:00: NBC [d. 09/12/2022 (last occupant: "Days of Our Lives, moved to Peacock")]

pm02:00-pm02:30: ABC alive
pm02:00-pm02:30: CBS alive
pm02:00-pm02:30: NBC [d. 09/10/2007 (last occupant: "Passions, moved to DirecTV")]

pm02:30-pm03:00: ABC alive
pm02:30-pm03:00: CBS alive
pm02:30-pm03:00: NBC [d. 09/10/2007 (last occupant: "Passions, moved to DirecTV")]

pm03:00-pm03:30: ABC [d. 09/10/2012 (last occupant: "General Hospital, moved")]
pm03:00-pm03:30: CBS alive
pm03:00-pm03:30: NBC [d. 01/18/1993 (last occupant: "Santa Barbara")]

pm03:30-pm04:00: ABC [d. 09/10/2012 (last occupant: "General Hospital, moved")]
pm03:30-pm04:00: CBS alive
pm03:30-pm04:00: NBC [d. 01/18/1993 (last occupant: "Santa Barbara")]

pm04:00-pm04:30: ABC [d. 12/31/1984 (last occupant: "The Edge of Night")]
pm04:00-pm04:30: CBS [d. 09/29/1986 (last occupant: "Press Your Luck")]
pm04:00-pm04:30: NBC [d. 12/05/1977 (last occupant: "The Gong Show, moved to a new time")]

pm04:30-pm05:00: ABC [d. 04/03/1967 (last occupant: "Where the Action Is")]
pm04:30-pm05:00: CBS [d. 09/06/1965 (last occupant: "The Jack Benny Daytime Show")]
pm04:30-pm05:00: NBC [d. 06/29/1964 (last occupant: "Make Room For Daddy reruns")]

pm05:00-pm05:30: ABC [d. 10/02/1961 (last occupant: "American Bandstand, which aired from 4 to 5:30pm ET, cut to 50 minutes")]
pm05:00-pm05:30: CBS [d. 08/20/1951 (last occupant: "Lucky Pup")]
pm05:00-pm05:30: NBC [d. 08/18/1958 (last occupant: "Comedy Time reruns")]

pm05:30-pm06:00: ABC [d. 10/02/1961 (last occupant: "Various Programs")]
pm05:30-pm06:00: CBS [d. 04/02/1951 (last occupant: "The Chuck Wagon, which actually aired from 5:15 to 6:00 ET")]
pm05:30-pm06:00: NBC [d. 06/04/1956 (last occupant: "The Howdy Doody Show")]

pm06:00-pm06:30: ABC [never programmed for daytime blocks]
pm06:00-pm06:30: CBS [d. 12/18/1950 (last occupant: "The Chuck Wagon, which actually aired from 5:30 to 6:30 ET, moved")]
pm06:00-pm06:30: NBC [never programmed for daytime blocks]

pm06:30-pm07:00: ABC ABC Evening News (may run in later time slots, or earlier in the Central (5:30pm or later), Mountain (4:30pm or later) and Pacific (3:30pm or later) time zones.)

pm06:30-pm07:00: CBS CBS Evening News (may run in later time slots, or earlier in the Central (5:30pm or later), Mountain (4:30pm or later) and Pacific (3:30pm or later) time zones.)

pm06:30-pm07:00: NBC NBC Evening News (may run in later time slots, or earlier in the Central (5:30pm or later), Mountain (4:30pm or later) and Pacific (3:30pm or later) time zones.)

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