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Philco Radio Time

Philco Radio Time
Philco Radio Time advert.jpg
Other names The Bing Crosby Show
The Bing Crosby Program
Genre Musical variety
Running time 30 minutes
Country United States
Language(s) English
Syndicates ABC
Armed Forces Radio Network
Starring Bing Crosby
Peggy Lee
The John Scott Trotter Orchestra
Announcer Ken Carpenter
Bob Murphy
Glenn Riggs
Kenny Delmar
Written by Charles Tazewell
Bill Morrow
Larry Clemmons
Al Lewis
Directed by Murdo MacKenzie
Produced by Bill Morrow
Recording studio Hollywood, USA
Air dates October 16, 1946 (1946-10-16) to June 1, 1949 (1949-06-01)
No. of series 3
No. of episodes 108
Opening theme Where the Blue of the Night (Meets the Gold of the Day)
Sponsored by Philco
see below

Philco Radio Time was an old-time radio radio series starring entertainer Bing Crosby. The series ran over ABC Radio with episodes airing from October 16, 1946–June 1, 1949. The series also was syndicated for a period of time over the Armed Forces Radio Network.

The series is also known for being the first pre-recorded radio program aired on the major USA radio networks. For the first season, the shows were recorded on disc, but beginning with the series' second season, the show began using Ampex tape recorders for their broadcasts.

The program was usually recorded in Hollywood and was sponsored by the Philco Corporation.

Starting in 1931, singer and entertainer Bing Crosby had had many appearances on radio as a solo performer before Philco Radio Time. In January 1936, Crosby moved from CBS Radio to NBC working as the master of ceremonies for the Kraft Music Hall. In June 1945, with the ensuing accompaniment of much legal wrangling, Bing Crosby terminated his almost, ten-year association with the Kraft Foods Company, leaving himself free to choose another sponsor. He declined other offers in favour of a deal with the Philco Corporation of America which, apart from the financial considerations involved, afforded the appealing convenience of pre-recording his broadcasts. He was obliged to honour an agreement with Kraft which required him to appear in thirteen more shows, the last of which was broadcast in May 1946 but then, on Wednesday October 16th 1946, ‘'Philco Radio Time' - The Bing Crosby Show’, opened on the ABC network and (according to the publicity of the time), Wednesday, became ‘Bing’s Day’.

Unfortunately, after a promising start, Philco began to lose its audience. This occurred during a three-year period when Bing, in spite of the criticisms levelled at the time, was still, consistently, the cinema’s biggest box-office draw and was still racking up outstanding record sales, including five more million-sellers. Many theories have been propounded for the slump in ratings - loss of voice, loss of spontaneity, loss of sound quality, etc., but in fact, the whole of the radio industry was declining world-wide as a form of entertainment. The public, perhaps, were in pursuit of a more sophisticated distraction than the medium which had served them so well and often been their sole comfort during the war years. Live entertainment was back. Theatres closed for the duration had re-opened their doors; international sporting events could be seen again. The cinema was, naturally, still booming and most significant of all, television had returned, flexing its muscles in preparation for an overwhelming victory as the most popular in-home entertainment.


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