| LBS Communications, Inc. | |
| Type: | In-name only unit of Pearson Television |
| Fate: | Acquired by All American Communications. Remained as an In-name only unit of Pearson Television until 2001 |
| Defunct: | (Company) (In-name only unit) |
| Location: | New York City, New York, United States |
| Industry: | Television syndication |
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]
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). In 1986, it launched a syndicated block with DIC Entertainment and Mattel, Kideo TV.[8] [9] 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.[10]
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.[11]
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.[12]
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.[13]
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,[14] 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. LBS would live on in the 1990s as an in-name-only unit of All American Television, which was sold to Pearson plc. in 1997 and renamed to Pearson Television; the production company would close in 2001.
| Title | Run | Co-producer | Current distributor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not for Women Only | 1976–79 | |||
| Hot Fudge | 1976–80 | |||
| The Andy Williams Show | 1976–77 | Pierre Cossette Enterprises | ||
| Sha Na Na | 1977–81 | Pierre Cossette Enterprises | ||
| Sorority '62 | 1978 | Dick Clark Productions | ||
| Hee Haw Honeys | 1978–79 | Yongestreet Productions | Ryman Hospitality Properties | |
| The Health Field | 1979–84 | |||
| Doctor Snuggles | 1981 | Polyscope | ||
| The Glen Campbell Music Show | 1982–83 | Pierre Cossette Productions Gaylord Program Services | ||
| In Search of... | 1982–83 | Alan Landsburg Productions | NBCUniversal Syndication Studios | |
| Super Friends | 1982–85 | Warner Bros. Television | ||
| Inspector Gadget | 1983–86 | WildBrain | ||
| Family | 1983–84 | Columbia Pictures Television Spelling/Goldberg Productions | Sony Pictures Television | |
| How the West Was Won | 1983–84 | Warner Bros. Television | ||
| LBS Children's Theater | 1983–85 | Various | Various | |
| The Greatest American Hero | 1984–85 | Shout! Factory | ||
| Heathcliff | 1984–85 | WildBrain | ||
| Tales from the Darkside | 1984–88 | Laurel Entertainment Jaygee Productions | CBS Media Ventures | |
| INDAY | 1985–86 | |||
| M.A.S.K. | 1985–86 | WildBrain | ||
| Care Bears | 1985 | WildBrain | ||
| What's Happening Now!! | 1985–88 | Columbia Pictures Television | Sony Pictures Television | |
| Kideo TV | 1986–87 | WildBrain | ||
| Canned Film Festival | 1986 | Young & Rubicam Chelsea Communications | Keurig Dr Pepper/Fremantle | |
| The New Gidget | 1986–88 | Sony Pictures Television | ||
| The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin | 1986–87 | The Jim Henson Company | ||
| The Real Ghostbusters | 1987–91 | DIC Enterprises Columbia Pictures Television | Sony Pictures Television | |
| The New American Bandstand | 1987–88 | Dick Clark Productions | ||
| Hardcastle and McCormick | 1987–88 | Sony Pictures Television | ||
| New Monkees | 1987–88 | Coca-Cola Telecommunications Straybert Productions | Sony Pictures Television | |
| Family Feud | 1988–92 | Fremantle | ||
| Police Academy | 1988–89 | Ruby-Spears Productions Warner Bros. Television | Warner Bros. Television | |
| Crazy Like a Fox | 1989 | Columbia Pictures Television | Sony Pictures Television | |
| The New Adventures of He-Man | 1990 | Jetlag Productions Parafrance Communications | NBCUniversal Syndication Studios | |
| Dragon Warrior | 1990 | |||
| Memories...Then and Now | 1990–92 | NBC News Productions | NBCUniversal Syndication Studios | |
| Baywatch | 1991–92 | The Baywatch Company Tower 12 Productions | Fremantle | |
| Title | Run | Co-producer | Current distributor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Clairol Crown | 1979–81 | |||
| 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 | 1983 | CBS Media Ventures | ||
| The Care Bears in the Land Without Feelings | 1983 | Cloudco Entertainment | ||
| The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine | 1984 | Cloudco Entertainment | ||
| Poochie | 1984 | WildBrain | ||
| The Adventures of the Get Along Gang | May 6, 1984 | Cloudco Entertainment | ||
| GoBots: Battle for GoBotron | 1984 | Warner Bros. Television | ||
| It Came Upon the Midnight Clear | December 8, 1984 | Columbia Pictures Television | Sony Pictures Television | |
| Peter and Paul | 1985 | Universal Television | NBCUniversal Syndication Studios | |
| Hope Diamonds | 1986 | Hope Enterprises | Sony Pictures Television | |
| The Story of Rock 'n Roll | 1987 | Chelsea Communications | Fremantle | |
| Return to the Titanic...Live | October 28, 1987 | Westgate Communications | Fremantle | |
| 1988 | Bonanza Ventures Gaylord Productions | Entertainment One | ||
| Exploring Pyschic Powers...Live | 1989 | Fremantle | ||
| The Billy Martin Celebrity Roast | September 30, 1989 | Multiview Productions | Fremantle | |
| It Nearly Wasn't Christmas | 1989 | Ventura Entertainment Group | Fremantle |