1971–72 United States network television schedule
Wikimedia list article
The following is the 1971–72 network television schedule for the three major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1971 through August 1972. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1970–71 season. All times are Eastern and Pacific, with certain exceptions, such as Monday Night Football.
This season saw a drastic change in scheduling, as the Prime Time Access Rule was enacted, limiting networks to provide not more than 21 hours of primetime programming a week, also giving the Sunday night 7:00-7:30pm slot and the 7:30-8:00pm slot on Mondays and Wednesdays through Saturdays back to local affiliates.
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.
The Public Broadcasting Service was in operation, but the schedule was set by each local station.
Legend
Sunday
Note: 60 Minutes aired at 6:00-7:00 pm on CBS from January to June 1972.
Monday
Tuesday
Note: The NBC 1972 summer series Ponderosa consisted of reruns of Bonanza episodes from the 1967-1970 period.
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