This was the television schedule on all three United States television network

Television network

A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...

s for the fall season beginning in September 1971. All times are Eastern and Pacific, with a few exceptions, such as Monday Night Football. This season would be the first time the prime time schedule would be shortened to three hours (with the exception of Sunday and Tuesday), giving the 7:30 p.m. slot back to local stations, as implemented in the Prime Time Access Rule

Prime Time Access Rule

The Prime Time Access Rule was instituted by the Federal Communications Commission in 1970 to restrict the amount of network broadcast programming that a local television station, Owned-and-operated station by or affiliated with a television network may air during "prime time"...

.

New fall series are highlighted in bold.

The highest-rated show for the year is colored in lime. The top ten highest-rated shows are colored in yellow. The top 20 highest-rated shows are colored in cyan. The top 30 highest-rated shows are colored in magenta.

The Public Broadcasting Service

Public Broadcasting Service

The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....

 (PBS) was in operation, but the schedule was set by each local station.

Sunday

PM	8:00	8:30	9:00	9:30	10:00	10:30
ABC American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...	The F.B.I. #17 22.4 rating		The ABC Sunday Night Movie The ABC Sunday Night Movie The ABC Sunday Night Movie is a television program that aired on Sunday nights, first for a brief time in 1962 under the title Hollywood Special . It then began airing regularly under its more commonly known title from 1964 to 1998, on ABC...  #26 20.8 rating
CBS CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...	The CBS Sunday Night Movies (began at 7:30)			Cade's County Cade's County Cade's County is a modern-day Western/crime drama which aired on CBS during the 1971–72 television season. There were 24 episodes.-Synopsis:...		Local
NBC NBC The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...	The Wonderful World of Disney* #19 22.0 rating (began at 7:30)	The Jimmy Stewart Show The Jimmy Stewart Show The Jimmy Stewart Show is an American sitcom starring James Stewart as a professor at a small town university called Josiah Kesser College. Twenty-four episodes of the show were broadcast in the 1971–1972 season on the NBC network's Sunday night schedule , under the sponsorship of Procter &...	Bonanza Bonanza Bonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...  #20 21.9 rating		The Bold Ones The Bold Ones The Bold Ones is the umbrella title for several television series. It was produced by Universal Television and broadcast on NBC from 1969 to 1973... : The New Doctors The Bold Ones: The New Doctors The Bold Ones: The New Doctors is an American medical drama that lasted for four seasons on NBC, from 1969 to 1973.-Overview:The series focuses on the life of Dr. David Craig The Bold Ones: The New Doctors (also known as The New Doctors) is an American medical drama that lasted for four seasons on...  / The Lawyers The Bold Ones: The Lawyers The Bold Ones: The Lawyers is an American legal drama that aired for three season on NBC from December 1968 through February 1972.-Synopsis:...

• Title change from NBC's Wonderful World of Color effective July 18, 1971.

Monday

PM	8:00	8:30	9:00	9:30	10:00	10:30
ABC American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...	Nanny and the Professor Nanny and the Professor Nanny and the Professor is a U.S. fantasy situation comedy created by AJ Carothers and Thomas L. Miller for 20th Century Fox Television. During pre-production, the proposed title was Nanny Will Do. The series first aired as a mid-season replacement on January 21, 1970, on ABC and was last telecast...	Local	ABC NFL Monday Night Football Monday Night Football Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...  #25 20.9 rating
CBS CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...	Gunsmoke Gunsmoke Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....  #4 26.0 rating		Here's Lucy Here's Lucy Here's Lucy is Lucille Ball's third network television sitcom. It ran on CBS from 1968 to 1974.-Background:Though The Lucy Show was still hugely popular during the previous season, finishing in the top five of the Nielsen Ratings , Ball opted to end that series at the end of that season and create...  #11 23.7 rating	The Doris Day Show The Doris Day Show The Doris Day Show is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS network from September 1968 until September 1973. In addition to showcasing Doris Day, the show is remembered for its many abrupt format changes over the course of its five-year run...  #24 21.2 rating	My Three Sons My Three Sons My Three Sons is an American situation comedy. The series ran from 1960 to 1965 on ABC, and moved to CBS until its end on August 24, 1972. My Three Sons chronicles the life of a widower and aeronautical engineer named Steven Douglas , raising his three sons.The series was a cornerstone of the CBS...	Arnie Arnie (TV series) Arnie was a television sitcom that ran for two seasons on the CBS network. It starred Herschel Bernardi, Sue Ane Langdon, and Roger Bowen....
NBC NBC The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...	Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In is an American sketch comedy television program which ran for 140 episodes from January 22, 1968, to May 14, 1973. It was hosted by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin and was broadcast over NBC...  #22 21.4 rating		NBC Monday Night at the Movies

Tuesday

PM	8:00	8:30	9:00	9:30	10:00	10:30
ABC American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...	The Mod Squad The Mod Squad The Mod Squad is a television series that ran on ABC from September 24, 1968, until August 23, 1973. This series starred Michael Cole, Peggy Lipton, Clarence Williams III, and Tige Andrews...  #21 21.5 rating (began at 7:30)	Movie of the Week ABC Movie of the Week The ABC Movie of the Week is a weekly television anthology series, featuring made-for-TV movies, that aired on the ABC network in various permutations from 1969 to 1975.-History:...  #5 25.6 rating			Marcus Welby, M.D. Marcus Welby, M.D. Marcus Welby, M.D. is an American medical drama television program that aired on ABC from September 23, 1969, to July 29, 1976. It starred Robert Young as a family practitioner with a kind bedside manner, and was produced by David Victor and David J. O'Connell...  #3 27.8 rating (began at 7:30)
CBS CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...	The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour was an American network television music and comedy variety show hosted by singer Glen Campbell from January 1969 through June 1972 on CBS. He was offered the show after he hosted a 1968 summer replacement for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour...  (began at 7:30)	Hawaii Five-O Hawaii Five-O Hawaii Five-O is an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productions and Leonard Freeman. Set in Hawaii, the show originally aired for twelve seasons from 1968 to 1980, and continues in reruns. The show featured a fictional state police unit run by Detective Steve McGarrett,...  #12 23.6 rating		Cannon Cannon (TV series) Cannon is a CBS detective television series produced by Quinn Martin which aired from March 26, 1971 to March 3, 1976.The primary protagonist was the title character, Frank Cannon, played by William Conrad.... #29 19.8 rating		Local
NBC NBC The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...	Ironside Ironside (TV series) Ironside is a Universal television series which ran on NBC from September 14, 1967 to January 16, 1975. The show starred Raymond Burr as the wheelchair-using Chief of Detectives, Robert T. Ironside. The character's debut was in a TV-movie on March 28, 1967. The original title of the show in the...  #15 23.0 rating (began at 7:30)	Sarge Sarge (TV series) Sarge was a Universal Television / Harbour Productions television series starring George Kennedy as Samuel Patrick Cavanaugh, a San Diego police detective sergeant who decides to retire and enter the priesthood after his wife is murdered...		The Funny Side The Funny Side The Funny Side is an American sketch comedy program that aired on NBC as part of its 1971 fall lineup.-Synopsis:The Funny Side was hosted by Gene Kelly and starred five pairs of actors and actresses who were presented as married couples...		Local

Wednesday

PM	8:00	8:30	9:00	9:30	10:00	10:30
ABC American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...	Bewitched Bewitched Bewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York and Dick Sargent , Agnes Moorehead, and David White. The show is about a witch who marries a mortal and tries to lead the life of a typical suburban...	The Courtship of Eddie's Father The Courtship of Eddie's Father The Courtship of Eddie's Father is an American television sitcom based on the 1963 movie of the same name, which was based on the book written by Mark Toby...	The Smith Family Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...	Shirley's World Shirley's World Shirley's World was a television series aired first by American Broadcasting Company during the U.S. 1971-72 television season. The sitcom was co-produced by the British ATV Network and American producer Sheldon Leonard; it starred Shirley MacLaine as a photojournalist and John Gregson as her...	The Man and the City The Man and the City The Man and the City was a dramatic television series which was aired on the ABC television network as part of its Fall 1971 lineup from September 15, 1971 to January 5, 1972....
CBS CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...	The Carol Burnett Show The Carol Burnett Show The Carol Burnett Show is a variety / sketch comedy television show starring Carol Burnett, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, Lyle Waggoner, and Tim Conway. It originally ran on CBS from September 11, 1967, to March 29, 1978, for 278 episodes and originated from CBS Television City's Studio 33...  #23 21.2 rating		Medical Center Medical Center (TV series) Medical Center is a medical drama series which aired on CBS from 1969 to 1976.-Synopsis:The show starred James Daly as Dr. Paul Lochner and Chad Everett as Dr. Joe Gannon, surgeons working in an otherwise unnamed university hospital in Los Angeles. The show focused both on the lives of the doctors...  #13 23.5 rating		Mannix Mannix Mannix is an American television detective series that ran from 1967 through 1975 on CBS. Created by Richard Levinson and William Link and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller, the title character, Joe Mannix, is a private investigator. He is played by Mike Connors...  #7 24.8 rating
NBC NBC The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...	Adam-12 Adam-12 Adam-12 was a television police drama which followed two police officers of the Los Angeles Police Department, Pete Malloy and Jim Reed, as they patrolled the streets of Los Angeles in their patrol unit, 1-Adam-12. Created by Jack Webb who is known for creating Dragnet, the series captured a...  #9 23.9 rating	The NBC Mystery Movie NBC Mystery Movie The NBC Mystery Movie is the general name of an American television series, produced by Universal Studios, that was broadcast by NBC from 1971-77... : Columbo / McCloud / McMillan & Wife #14 23.2 rating			Night Gallery Night Gallery Night Gallery is an American anthology series that aired on NBC from 1970 to 1973, featuring stories of horror and the macabre. Rod Serling, who had gained fame from an earlier series, The Twilight Zone, served both as the on-air host of Night Gallery and as a major contributor of scripts, although...

Thursday

PM	8:00	8:30	9:00	9:30	10:00	10:30
ABC American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...	Alias Smith and Jones Alias Smith and Jones Alias Smith and Jones is an American Western series that originally aired on ABC from 1971 to 1973. It stars Pete Duel as Hannibal Heyes and Ben Murphy as Jedediah "Kid" Curry, a pair of Western cousin outlaws trying to reform...		Longstreet Longstreet (TV series) Longstreet is an American crime drama series that was broadcast on the ABC in the 1971-1972 season . A 90-minute pilot movie of the same name aired prior to the debut of the series as an ABC Movie of the Week.-Synopsis:...		Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law is an American legal drama, jointly created by David Victor and former law professor Jerry McNeely, that starred actor Arthur Hill. The series was broadcast on ABC from 1971 to 1974...
CBS CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...	Bearcats!		The CBS Thursday Night Movies
NBC NBC The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...	The Flip Wilson Show The Flip Wilson Show The Flip Wilson Show is a variety show that aired in the U.S. on NBC from September 17, 1970 to June 27, 1974. The show starred American comedian Flip Wilson; the program was one of the first American television programs starring a black person in the title role to become highly successful with a...  #2 28.2 rating		Nichols		The Dean Martin Show The Dean Martin Show The Dean Martin Show is a TV variety-comedy series that ran from 1965 to 1974 for 264 episodes. It was broadcast by NBC and hosted by crooner Dean Martin...

Friday

PM	8:00	8:30	9:00	9:30	10:00	10:30
ABC American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...	The Brady Bunch The Brady Bunch The Brady Bunch is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz and starring Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, and Ann B. Davis. The series revolved around a large blended family...	The Partridge Family The Partridge Family The Partridge Family is an American television sitcom about a widowed mother and her five children who embark on a music career. The series originally ran from September 25, 1970 until August 31, 1974, the last new episode airing on March 23, 1974, on the ABC network, as part of a Friday-night lineup...  #16 22.6 rating	Room 222 Room 222 Room 222 is an American comedy-drama television series produced by 20th Century Fox Television. The series aired on ABC from September 17, 1969, to January 11, 1974, for 112 episodes...  #28 19.8 rating	The Odd Couple	Love, American Style Love, American Style Love, American Style is an hour-long TV anthology produced by Paramount Television and originally aired between September 1969 and January 1974...
CBS CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...	The Chicago Teddy Bears The Chicago Teddy Bears The Chicago Teddy Bears is an American sitcom that aired on CBS. The series was part of the network's 1971 fall lineup, premiering on September 17, 1971.-Synopsis:Unlike other shows set in Prohibition-era Chicago, The Chicago Teddy Bears was a sitcom...	O'Hara, U.S. Treasury O'Hara, U.S. Treasury O'Hara, U.S. Treasury is an American television crime drama broadcast by CBS during the 1971-72 television season. Jack Webb's Mark VII Limited packaged the program for Universal Television. Webb and longtime colleague James E. Moser created the show; Leonard B. Kaufman was the...		The New CBS Friday Night Movies #30 19.5 rating
NBC NBC The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...	The D.A.	World Premiere Movie				Local

Note: On NBC, the sitcom Sanford and Son

Sanford and Son

Sanford and Son is an American sitcom, based on the BBC's Steptoe and Son, that ran on the NBC television network from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977....

#6 (25.2 rating) premiered on January 14, 1972 at 8:00.

Saturday

PM	8:00	8:30	9:00	9:30	10:00	10:30
ABC American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...	Getting Together Getting Together (TV series) Getting Together was a musical situation comedy, which aired on the ABC television network during the 1971-72 season. It starred Bobby Sherman and Wes Stern as Bobby Conway and Lionel Poindexter, a songwriting duo...	Movie of the Weekend ABC Movie of the Week The ABC Movie of the Week is a weekly television anthology series, featuring made-for-TV movies, that aired on the ABC network in various permutations from 1969 to 1975.-History:...			The Persuaders! The Persuaders! The Persuaders! is a 1971 action/adventure series, produced by ITC Entertainment for initial broadcast on ITV and ABC. It has been called "the last major entry in the cycle of adventure series that had begun eleven years earlier with Danger Man in 1960", as well as "the most ambitious and most...
CBS CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...	All in the Family All in the Family All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...  #1 34.0 rating	Funny Face The Sandy Duncan Show Funny Face and The Sandy Duncan Show are two sitcoms aired by CBS starring Sandy Duncan as part of its 1971 and 1972 fall lineups, respectively... #8 23.9 rating	The New Dick Van Dyke Show The New Dick Van Dyke Show The New Dick Van Dyke Show is an American sitcom starring Dick Van Dyke that aired on CBS from 1971 to 1974. This was Van Dyke's first return to series television since The Dick Van Dyke Show.-Production:... #18 22.2 rating	The Mary Tyler Moore Show The Mary Tyler Moore Show The Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977...  #10 23.7 rating	Mission: Impossible Mission: Impossible Mission: Impossible is an American television series which was created and initially produced by Bruce Geller. It chronicled the missions of a team of secret American government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force . The leader of the team was Jim Phelps, played by Peter Graves, except in...
NBC NBC The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...	The Partners The Partners The Partners is an American sitcom that aired on September 18, 1971 through September 8, 1972 on NBC.-Synopsis:The program featured Don Adams and Rupert Crosse as bumbling detectives...	The Good Life The Good Life (1971 TV series) The Good Life is an American situation comedy which was aired on NBC as part of its 1971-72 lineup. The series stars Larry Hagman and Donna Mills, and was produced by Lorimar, in association with Screen Gems.-Synopsis:...	NBC Saturday Night at the Movies NBC Saturday Night at the Movies NBC Saturday Night at the Movies, was the first continuing weekly prime time network television series to show relatively recent feature films from major studios in color...