The 1948-1949 television season is the third network season in United States television history. It began on Sunday, August 29, 1948 and ended on Saturday, March 26, 1949. The effective start date of the 1948-49 season for the purposes of audience measurement was Sunday, August 29, 1948 through Saturday, August 27, 1949.
Top 10 ranking of the highest achieved rating by programs during the span of the 1948-49 TV season. See the extended list of the 1948-49 top-rated shows.
| Rank | Program | Network | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | Low | |||
| 1 | Milton Berle Show | NBC | 80.7 | 33.4 |
| 2 | Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts | CBS | 73.0 | 55.2 |
| 3 | The Goldbergs | CBS | 60.6 | 41.7 |
| 4 | Arthur Godfrey & His Friends | CBS | 60.0 | 29.0 |
| 5 | Ed Sullivan Show | CBS | 56.4 | 37.1 |
| 6 | Ford Television Theatre | CBS | 55.6 | |
| 7 | Admiral Broadway Revue | DuMont | 51.7 | 38.1 |
| 7 | Admiral Broadway Revue | NBC | 51.7 | 38.1 |
| 9 | Who Said That? | NBC | 48.6 | |
| 10 | Gillette Cavalcade of Sports | NBC | 48.1 | |
Universe estimates used to calculate a program or network's rating within that particular demographic for the 1948-49 TV season.
| Demographic | Population | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Households | 1,197,000 | |
| Persons 2+ | 3,591,000 |