Lexington Broadcast Services Company

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 in 1976 by advertising pioneer Henry Siegel. Advertising Age wrote of Siegel as "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 Communications, Inc.
IndustryTelevision syndication
FateAcquired by All American Communications
Successor
Founded1976 (1976)
Defunct1992 (1992)
HeadquartersNew York City, New York, United States
ParentAll American Communications (1991–1992)

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,[3] in addition to the 1991 syndicated re-launch of Baywatch. The company was also known for Elia Kazan's films that he directed from 1945 to 1976.

Around the time that the joint venture with Columbia Pictures Entertainment ended in 1988, 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. In 1997, All American was sold to Pearson plc, and was re-branded as Pearson Television. Pearson Television later merged with CLT-UFA to form RTL Group and Pearson Television was renamed to FremantleMedia. As of today, most of LBS' library is owned by FremantleMedia with some exceptions.

Programming distributed by LBS

TV programs

Films

TV films

Notes
  1. Produced originally by Screen Gems, Spelling-Goldberg Productions and/or Columbia Pictures Television, later syndicated by Colex from 1984 to 1988. Sony Pictures Television now holds the distribution rights, along with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment for DVD releases.
  2. Produced by Ruby-Spears Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television (owners of the Police Academy franchise); rights have since reverted to Warner's television syndication unit.
  3. Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. in association with DC Comics (owners of the Super Friends property); rights have since reverted to H-B successor/DC owner Warner Bros.' television syndication unit.
  4. SPT has domestic and worldwide syndication rights due to prior contractual agreements; the ancillary rights to the series are now with Rhino Entertainment.
  5. Distributed during the original run by Colex. Sony Pictures Television (as successor to Columbia Pictures Television) now has sole distribution rights.

References
  1. "50 Who Made A Difference", page 45. Advertising Age, Spring 1995.
  2. https://adage.com/article/btob/media-dealmakers-summit-focuses-industry-8217-s-realities/281538
  3. "Sale in the works for 'Eden' mini-series". Broadcasting: 45. 1984-01-30.
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