Lexington Broadcast Services Company

Last updated
LBS Communications, Inc.
Industry Television syndication
FoundedNovember 15, 1976;47 years ago (1976-11-15)
Defunct1992;32 years ago (1992)
FateAcquired by and folded into All American Communications
Successor All American Communications Television
Fremantle
Headquarters New York City, New York, United States
Owner Marvin Davis (1987–1992)
Parent Grey Advertising (1976–1987)

The Lexington Broadcast Services Company (first known as Lexington Broadcast Services and later known as LBS Communications) was a television production and syndication company founded on November 15, 1976, by advertising pioneer Henry Siegel, who, according to Advertising Age , was "the man who built Lexington Broadcast Services into the nation's largest barter syndicator, and thus defined that segment of the TV ad business." [1] [2]

Contents

History

LBS was originally a unit of Grey Advertising, in order to develop products that were marketed for syndication. Some of the first products that were made were Not for Women Only, which was produced by WNBC-TV in New York City, and Hot Fudge, which was produced by then-ABC O&O WXYZ-TV in Detroit. [3] Siegel was moved from Grey Advertising's president in order to become head of Lexington Broadcast Services Company. [4] In 1977, it launched its first breakout hit for the company, Sha Na Na , for syndication, with advertising on a barter basis. [5]

In December 1982, it entered into a partnership with Columbia Pictures Television to bring the ABC drama Family to off-net syndication starting in September 1983, with LBS handling distribution under license from Columbia Pictures Television, which was sold onto a barter basis. [6] [7] The success of Family led to the formation of the Colex Enterprises joint venture (as mentioned below). [8] In 1986, it launched a syndicated block with DIC Entertainment and Mattel, Kideo TV . [9] [10] That year, DIC and LBS formed the Family Theater package of eight animated specials, and decided that DIC and LBS would team up with Columbia Pictures Television to produce a live-action Dennis the Menace feature film. [11]

In 1985, LBS, DIC Enterprises and Karl/Lorimar Home Video set up a home video distribution venture, Kideo Video, which released titles from LBS' Kideo catalog, through which, by 1986, LBS planned to release titles for the videocassette market, and it gained programming rights for 200 Kideo titles. By 1987, LBS had to market beauty videocassettes due to the underperforming expectations of the initial Kideo videocassettes, and sponsored made-for-TV specials would not be included in its initial deal. [12]

In June 1987, DIC and LBS settled their lawsuits regarding Kideo Video "amicably" out of court, due to the cross complaints that stemmed from the home video label beginning in 1985. The settlement allowed Lorimar Home Video to continue distributing for the home video market certain kids' animated programs, and called for LBS and DIC to have the right to enter into separate home video agreements independently of each other. In addition, the rights of one of the companies could be independent of each other, and also independent of Lorimar Home Video, and the issue of a joint account that LBS was managing and allegedly was being trafficked in and out of the Cayman Islands was raised. It was revealed that there was wrongdoing in the $250 million account co-owned by LBS. [13]

In late July 1987, LBS Communications, on behalf of Westgate Entertainment, began marketing a $3 million, two-hour barter syndicated special on the Titanic, and LBS and Westgate had exclusive rights to the taped footage of the attacks at that time. The company had to feed the special to an ad-hoc network of TV stations on October 28, and at least 30 minutes of the two-hour special would be from Monte Carlo. It was decided that LBS would sell the telecast as part of a four-special barter package. [14]

The company was known for distributing programs from DIC Entertainment and Columbia Pictures Television (including select material from Columbia subsidiary/label Screen Gems), by way of its Colex Enterprises joint venture with Columbia, [8] in addition to the 1991 syndicated re-launch of Baywatch . The company was also known for handling Elia Kazan's films that he directed from 1945 to 1976, and syndicating selected Bob Hope-produced movies that reverted to him after their initial release. That year, LBS Communications built up its distribution arm to allow stations to broadcast syndicated TV productions from outside production companies, and Paul Siegel would take over as president of the LBS Entertainment division. He had plans for advertising with Paramount Domestic Television and Coca-Cola Telecommunications, but the company then found itself in the cold, and the alternatives failed to materialize due to a management buyout of the company from Grey Advertising by Marvin Davis, who was a former employee of the 20th Century-Fox film studio. [15]

Around the time that LBS' partnership with Columbia Pictures Television ended in late 1989, LBS began to lose money, and in December 1991, LBS filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. As a result, the company ended up having to sell between 80 and 85 percent of its assets to its Baywatch distributor partner, the Scotti Brothers' All American Television.

TV programs

TitleRunCo-producerCurrent distributor
Not for Women Only 1976–79
Hot Fudge 1976–80
The Andy Williams Show 1976–77Pierre Cossette Enterprises
Sha Na Na 1977–81Pierre Cossette Enterprises
Sorority '621978 Dick Clark Productions
Hee Haw Honeys 1978–79Yongestreet Productions Ryman Hospitality Properties
The Health Field1979–84
Doctor Snuggles 1981Polyscope
The Glen Campbell Music Show 1982–83Pierre Cossette Productions
Gaylord Program Services
In Search of... 1982–83Alan Landsburg Productions NBCUniversal Syndication Studios
Super Friends 1982–85 Hanna-Barbera
DC Comics
Warner Bros. Television
Inspector Gadget 1983–86 DIC Enterprises WildBrain
Family 1983–84Columbia Pictures Television
Spelling/Goldberg Productions
Sony Pictures Television
How the West Was Won 1983–84 MGM Television Warner Bros. Television
LBS Children's Theater1983–85VariousVarious
The Greatest American Hero 1984–85 Stephen J. Cannell Productions Shout! Factory
Heathcliff 1984–85 DIC Enterprises WildBrain
Tales from the Darkside 1984–88Laurel Entertainment
Jaygee Productions
CBS Media Ventures
INDAY
  • It's A Great Life
  • All About Us
  • INDAY News
  • What's Hot? What's Not?
1985–86 Tribune Broadcasting
M.A.S.K. 1985–86 DIC Enterprises WildBrain
Care Bears 1985 DIC Enterprises WildBrain
What's Happening Now!! 1985–88Columbia Pictures TelevisionSony Pictures Television
Kideo TV1986–87 DIC Enterprises
Mattel
WildBrain
Canned Film Festival 1986 Young & Rubicam
Chelsea Communications
Keurig Dr Pepper/Fremantle
The New Gidget 1986–88 Ackerman/Riskin Productions
Columbia Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television
The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin 1986–87 DIC Enterprises
Atkinson Film-Arts
The Jim Henson Company
The Real Ghostbusters 1987–91DIC Enterprises
Columbia Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television
The New American Bandstand 1987–88 Dick Clark Productions
Hardcastle and McCormick 1987–88 Stephen J. Cannell Productions Sony Pictures Television
New Monkees 1987–88 Coca-Cola Telecommunications
Straybert Productions
Sony Pictures Television
Family Feud 1988–92 Mark Goodson Productions Fremantle
Police Academy 1988–89 Ruby-Spears Productions
Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television
Crazy Like a Fox 1989Columbia Pictures TelevisionSony Pictures Television
The New Adventures of He-Man 1990 Jetlag Productions
Parafrance Communications
NBCUniversal Syndication Studios
Dragon Warrior 1990 Saban International
Memories...Then and Now1990–92 NBC News ProductionsNBCUniversal Syndication Studios
Baywatch 1991–92The Baywatch Company
Tower 12 Productions
Fremantle

Ad sales

Colex Enterprises

Films

TV specials

TitleRunCo-producerCurrent distributor
The Clairol Crown1979–81
Strawberry Shortcake 1980–85 Kenner Products
Mueller/Rosen Productions (#1-#3)
Murakami-Wolf-Swenson (#1/#3)
Perpetual Motion Pictures (#2)
Nelvana (#4-#6)
CBS Media Ventures (#1-#2)
WildBrain (#3-#6)
Peter and the Magic Egg 1983Mueller/Rosen Productions
Murakami-Wolf-Swenson
CBS Media Ventures
The Care Bears in the Land Without Feelings 1983 Kenner Products
Atkinson Film-Arts
Cloudco Entertainment
The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine 1984 Kenner Products
Atkinson Film-Arts
Cloudco Entertainment
Poochie 1984 DIC Enterprises WildBrain
The Adventures of the Get Along Gang May 6, 1984 Nelvana Cloudco Entertainment
GoBots: Battle for GoBotron 1984 Hanna-Barbera
Tonka
Warner Bros. Television
It Came Upon the Midnight Clear December 8, 1984Columbia Pictures Television Sony Pictures Television
Peter and Paul 1985Universal TelevisionNBCUniversal Syndication Studios
Hope Diamonds1986Hope EnterprisesSony Pictures Television
The Story of Rock 'n Roll1987Chelsea CommunicationsFremantle
Return to the Titanic...LiveOctober 28, 1987Westgate CommunicationsFremantle
Bonanza: The Next Generation 1988Bonanza Ventures
Gaylord Productions
Entertainment One
Exploring Pyschic Powers...Live1989Fremantle
The Billy Martin Celebrity RoastSeptember 30, 1989Multiview ProductionsFremantle
It Nearly Wasn't Christmas1989Ventura Entertainment GroupFremantle

Related Research Articles

Orion Releasing, LLC is an American film production and distribution company owned by the Amazon MGM Studios subsidiary of Amazon.

<i>Inspector Gadget</i> (1983 TV series) 1983 animated television series

Inspector Gadget is an animated superhero science fiction comedy series co-created by Andy Heyward, Jean Chalopin and Bruno Bianchi, and was originally syndicated by DIC Audiovisuel and Lexington Broadcast Services Company. The show revolves around the adventures of a clumsy, dim-witted police officer from Metro City named Inspector Gadget—a police inspector with various bionic gadgets built into his body—who is sent on missions to thwart plans by his nemesis Dr. Claw, the leader of an evil organization known as "M.A.D.", while unknowingly being assisted by his niece Penny and their dog, Brain.

Lorimar Productions, Inc., later known as Lorimar Television and Lorimar Distribution, was an American production company that was later a subsidiary of Warner Bros., active from 1969 until 1993, when it was folded into Warner Bros. Television. It was founded by Irwin Molasky, Merv Adelson, and Lee Rich. The company's name was a portmanteau of the name of Adelson's then wife, Lori, and Palomar Airport.

M.A.S.K. is a 1985 animated television series produced by DIC and ICC TV Productions, Ltd. The series was based on the M.A.S.K. action figures produced by Kenner Products. It was animated in Japan by Ashi Productions, Studio World and K.K. DiC Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DIC Entertainment</span> Film and television production company

DIC Entertainment Corporation, branded as the Incredible World of DIC, was an international film and television production company that was mostly associated as an animation studio. As a now former division of The Walt Disney Company, DIC produced live-action feature films and licensed numerous anime series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Columbia Pictures Television</span> Former American television and distribution company

Columbia Pictures Television, Inc. was launched on May 6, 1974, by Columbia Pictures as an American television production and distribution company. It is the second name of the Columbia Pictures' television division Screen Gems (SG) and the third name of Pioneer Telefilms. The company was active from 1974 until New Year's Day 2001, when it was folded into Columbia TriStar Television, a merger between Columbia Pictures Television and TriStar Television. A separate entity of CPT continues to exist on paper as an intellectual property holder, and under the moniker "CPT Holdings" to hold the copyright for the TV show The Young and the Restless, as well as old incarnations from the company's television library such as What's Happening!!

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telepictures</span> American television show and filmmaking company

Telepictures is an American television show and filmmaking company, currently operating as a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Entertainment. Telepictures was established in 1979 by David Salzman, Michael Jay Solomon, and Michael Garin as a television syndication firm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bohbot Entertainment</span> Marketing company

Bohbot Entertainment was an American advertising and marketing company specializing in the children's market founded in 1985, and had traded under various different names over the years. The company produced and distributed programming under their operated syndicated block – Amazin' Adventures, later renamed to Bohbot Kids Network (BKN).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Program Exchange</span> American television program syndicator

The Program Exchange was a syndicator of television programs. It was founded as DFS Program Exchange in 1979, which became elongated to the DFS-Dorland Program Exchange from 1986 to 1987. From 1986 to 2008, it was a division of Saatchi & Saatchi, an advertising agency, while merging with Dorland Advertising in 1986, and would later be acquired by Publicis in 2000. In January 2008, Publicis transferred The Program Exchange from the Saatchi & Saatchi subsidiary to its ZenithOptimedia subsidiary, the logo was then changed to reflect this move. In 2016, the programexchange.com website was shut down; the shutdown coincided with NBCUniversal's purchase of one of its most prominent clients, DreamWorks Classics while Jay Ward Productions has been sold to WildBrain, as of 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coca-Cola Telecommunications</span> Syndication unit of Columbia Pictures Television

Coca-Cola Telecommunications, Inc. (CCT) was a first-run syndication unit of Columbia Pictures Television created on November 4, 1986, that was a merger between CPT's first-run syndication division and The Television Program Source, Inc.. The Television Program Source was a joint-venture between Alan Bennett, former King World president Robert King, and CPT that was founded on October 15, 1984.

Colex Enterprises was a joint venture between Columbia Pictures Television and LBS Communications, Inc., active from January 30, 1984 to Janurary 1, 1987. The name of the joint venture is a portmanteau of the two companies' names.

Tribune Entertainment was a television production and broadcast syndication company owned and operated by Tribune Broadcasting. It was started in 1964 as a subsidiary of WGN-TV in Chicago. Many programs offered from Tribune Entertainment have been broadcast on the company's television stations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taft Broadcasting</span> American media conglomerate (1939–1999)

Taft Broadcasting Company was an American media conglomerate based in Cincinnati, Ohio.

NBCUniversal Syndication Studios, formerly known as NBCUniversal Television Distribution, Universal Domestic Television, Studios USA Television Distribution and MCA TV is the television syndication division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, in the United States. Its predecessors include NBC Enterprises, Universal Television Distribution, Multimedia Entertainment, PolyGram Television, and Sky Vision. At some point in its history, it was also known as "NBCUniversal Television & New Media Distribution" and "NBC Universal Television and New Media Distribution.” This unit is possibly the parent for the similarly named "NBCUniversal Domestic Television Distribution" unit.

Lorimar-Telepictures Corporation, Inc. was an entertainment company established in 1985 with the merger of Lorimar Productions, Inc. and Telepictures Corporation. Headquartered at the former Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios in Culver City, California, its assets included television production and syndication, feature films, home video, and broadcasting.

Barris Industries, Inc. was an American game show production company that was founded by Chuck Barris.

Debmar-Mercury, LLC is a television syndication company. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Lionsgate Studios, it was formed from a merger of Debmar Studios and Mercury Entertainment in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All American Television</span> American television production and distribution company (1981–1998)

All American Television was a television syndication company active from 1981 to 1998. It was founded by Anthony J. Scotti, Ben Scotti, and Syd Vinnedge. The company was known for producing and distributing television shows such as Baywatch, America's Top 10, and the Mark Goodson Productions library of game shows.

GT Media, Inc. was an American home video company that originated in 1984 under the name of GoodTimes Home Video. Though it produced its own titles, the company was well known due to its distribution of media from third parties and classics. The founders for the company were the brothers Kenneth, Joseph and Stanley Cayre of Salsoul Records. Its headquarters were in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The company had a distribution facility in Jersey City, New Jersey and a duplication facility in Bayonne, New Jersey, known as GTK Duplicating Co..

Brillstein Entertainment Partners is a talent management firm and television production company formed by the 1986 addition of Brad Grey to The Brillstein Company, founded by Bernie Brillstein in 1969.

References

  1. "50 Who Made A Difference", page 45. Advertising Age, Spring 1995.
  2. "Media Dealmakers Summit focuses on industry's new realities". 5 February 2010.
  3. "Lexington Broadcast goes full stream into syndication" (PDF). Broadcasting . 1976-11-29. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  4. "Grey gets deeper in barter with Lexington subsidiary" (PDF). Broadcasting . 1976-11-22. Retrieved 2011-11-16.
  5. "Programming Briefs" (PDF). Broadcasting . 1977-07-04. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  6. "Family" (PDF). Broadcasting . 1982-12-20. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
  7. "Monitor" (PDF). Broadcasting . 1983-02-14. Retrieved 2021-11-14.
  8. 1 2 "Sale in the works for 'Eden' mini-series". Broadcasting. 1984-01-30. p. 45.
  9. Perlmutter, David (2014). America Toons In: A History of Television Animation. pp. 207–212. ISBN   9780786476503 . Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  10. "The Hot Team. The Hot Programs. The New Hot Weekend Network for Kids" (PDF). Broadcasting (LBS ad). January 6, 1986. pp. 8–9. Retrieved May 19, 2016.
  11. "DIC Fields 8-Pack Through LBS; Dennis Will Menace Again". Variety . 1986-08-20. pp. 51, 74.
  12. Melanson, James (1986-09-10). "LBS Enterprises Division Plans To Market Videocassettes". Variety . pp. 56, 58.
  13. "LBS And DIC Settle Lawsuit On Kideo Vid". Variety . 1987-06-03. pp. 61, 76.
  14. "LBS Stringing Ad Hoc Network To Launch Syndie 'Titanic' Spec". Variety . 1987-08-05. p. 39.
  15. Dempsey, John (1987-05-06). "LBS Seeking To Shore Up Syndie Division In Wake Of Barter Bust". Variety . pp. 586, 592.