| Show Name: | Add a Line |
| Format: | Game show |
| Runtime: | 30 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Syndicates: | ABC |
| Starring: | John Nelson (host) |
| First Aired: | July 4, 1949 |
| Last Aired: | September 26, 1949 |
Add a Line was a daytime radio game show which aired on ABC July 4, 1949, to September 26, 1949.[1] The title came from the show's format, which "called for players to add the final line to a rhyme given to them by the host."[2]
The 30-minute program was broadcast at 2:30 p.m. and other time periods during its run. The host was John Nelson (1915-76), who was heard on other audience participation radio shows, including Bride and Groom and Breakfast at Sardi's. In Radio and Television (Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1950), Garnet R. Garrison and Giraud Chester noted:
By 1949, the give-away programs had taken on the character of a bonanza. One CBS program offered a jackpot of $50,000 to the lucky winner. NBC launched a mammoth quiz called Hollywood Calling to compete with the Jack Benny show. ABC had Stop the Music, Strike It Rich and Add a Line. Mutual, with its Queen for a Day, managed to give away more prizes than any of the other networks.[3]