15 Minutes with Bing Crosby for radio as for recording, he's a cinch for ether popularity." The nationwide shows continued daily (except Sundays) on a sustaining basis until October 31, 1931 from station WABC in New York. Harry Von Zell was the announcer. Freddie Rich led the orchestra after the first week. Russ Columbo was broadcasting for NBC at 11:30 p.m. each night as competition for Bing with "Variety" noting "Scrap between NBC & CBS over Russ Columbo and Bing Crosby is getting warm." Crosby's popularity soon attracted a sponsor - the American Tobacco Company - and rather than Lucky Strike cigarettes, the company's president,
Bing Crosby Entertains at 5:30 p.m. Pacific Time. Musical support came from Lennie Hayton’s orchestra and Ken Niles was the announcer. The guest was eighteen-year-old songstress, Mary Lou Raymond. Bing was paid $1,750 per broadcast for a minimum of 13 weeks plus a figure to be agreed for a further six broadcasts. The shows opened with Ken Niles saying: “Bing Crosby entertains” followed by a word of welcome from Crosby and an opening song. “After that Niles would deliver a message from Woodbury whose slogan: “For the skin you love to touch,” represented considerable aesthetic improvement for Crosby over coughless cigarettes and saliva-free