What The Lighting Design Group does

The Lighting Design Group (LDG) is a privately held, New York-based professional services firm founded in 1989 that designs, installs, and operates broadcast-quality lighting systems for television networks, cable sports organizations, sports leagues, international broadcasters, and corporate clients. Headquartered at 49 West 27th Street, Manhattan, the company maintains an 11–50 person team and delivers six core service lines: Broadcast, Systems Integration, Corporate, On-Location, International, and Sports lighting, complemented in early 2025 by a dedicated LDG Entertainment Division serving variety, game shows, reality, music, streaming, and live event customers.

LDG's technical stack combines architectural and broadcast LED lighting with industry-standard control platforms such as ETC EOS and network-based control architectures, including rigging, suspension, fixture inventory design, and MEP integration for permanent studio builds and retrofits. The firm's IP is concentrated in its international roster of award-winning lighting designers (Emmy, Telly, Knights of Illumination) and a track record of executing complex live production lighting at high-visibility events: multiple Olympic Games (PyeongChang, Tokyo, Beijing, Paris), Super Bowl LVI, presidential debates and inaugurations, CNN's full Hudson Yards studio complex, NBC's Olympic coverage across 7,000+ hours of programming, and stadium/venue lighting for international sporting events from Qatar to South Korea.

The business model is project-based professional services revenue under quote-driven, scope-specific engagements (no published rate cards), with work spanning permanent studio installations, temporary on-location broadcast setups, and full turnkey corporate buildouts. Go-to-market is direct relationship-based enterprise selling to network executives, production teams, and venue operators, with no channel partners, resellers, or marketplace distribution. Marketing is largely earned through the project portfolio website, industry trade publications (Live Design Online, Newscast Studio), and award recognition rather than paid campaigns, and the customer base is concentrated in long-cycle enterprise media buyers across the U.S. broadcast, cable news, and professional sports ecosystems, with additional international and corporate work.

Name

The Lighting Design Group

Legal name

The Lighting Design Group

Website

https://ldg.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Lighting Design Group is a New York-based, privately held broadcast lighting design firm founded in 1989 that designs, installs, and operates lighting systems for major U.S. broadcast networks, cable sports outlets, sports leagues, international broadcasters, and corporate clients, with a 35-plus-year track record spanning multiple Olympic Games, Super Bowls, and presidential debates.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Broadcast Lighting Design Services

akta.pro primary industry

Lighting Design Services (BPAHAKAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Interior Design Services (BPAHAKAB)

Keywords

• Broadcast lighting design
• Studio lighting systems
• Sports broadcast lighting
• Lighting systems integration
• Live event lighting production

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Lighting Design Services: Professional lighting design services for broadcast studios, sports venues, corporate facilities, and live events. Projects range from permanent studio installations to temporary broadcast setups for major events. Revenue is project-based, typically engagements with specific client deliverables including design, production, equipment, and installation services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Lighting Design Group provides professional lighting design, production, systems integration, and consulting services for broadcast television studios, sports venues, corporate broadcast facilities, and live event environments. Projects range from permanent studio installations and control system design to rapid on-location mobilization for major global events including the Olympic Games, Super Bowl, World Cup, and presidential debates. The firm also operates a dedicated Entertainment Division serving variety, game shows, reality TV, music entertainment, streaming, and live event customers.

Product overview

The Lighting Design Group operates as a service-based lighting design company rather than a software product company. The core offering consists of professional lighting design and production services across six main service lines: Broadcast Lighting, Systems Integration, Corporate Lighting, On-Location Lighting, International Lighting, and Sports Lighting. These services are delivered through studio buildout and consulting engagements. A dedicated Entertainment Services Division was launched in early 2025 to serve the entertainment industry segment with specialized variety, game show, reality TV, music entertainment, and live event production capabilities. All services are delivered by an international roster of Emmy, Telly, and Knights of Illumination award-winning designers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Broadcast Lighting Services Design and execution of lighting for broadcast news studios and live event coverage for major U.S. networks and cable news organizations, including studio coverage, presidential inaugurations, and worldwide New Year's Eve celebrations.
• Systems Integration Design, consulting, and installation of broadcast lighting infrastructure including lighting control systems, rigging and suspension, fixture inventories, and MEP integration for new studios and retrofit installations.
• Corporate Lighting Turn-key lighting services combining architectural lighting, control systems, and broadcast lighting for in-house corporate broadcast studios, executive events, public meetings, company townhalls, and corporate installations involving video capture.
• On-Location Lighting Design of elevated, broadcast-ready lighting for on-location productions worldwide, ranging from town halls and Olympics to ABC's Good Morning America summer concert series, frozen rooftop studios, and live remotes from a U.S. submarine under the Atlantic and Times Square on New Year's Eve.
• International Lighting Lighting solutions for international productions, partnering with global broadcasters, production teams, and venue operators to deliver professional lighting systems and a continental style supporting complex, high-profile productions worldwide.
• Sports Lighting Design and installation of professional lighting systems for remote and sports broadcast environments, including championship games, international tournaments, stadium studios, and temporary broadcast setups for live global audiences.
• Studio Buildout Complete studio design and buildout services including set design integration, lighting infrastructure, and broadcast-ready space development for networks and production facilities.
• Consulting Professional consulting services providing design expertise and technical guidance for broadcast, corporate, and live event lighting installations.
• LDG Entertainment Division Dedicated business line serving variety, game show/competition, reality television, music entertainment, streaming, and live event customers with full-service production and lighting offerings, led by Mike Grabowski as Director.

Quantifiable outcome

• Successfully delivered 2,800+ hours of Olympics programming at Beijing 2022 Winter Games with lighting for 2 main studios, 2 insert studios, and multiple remote locations
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Available Light: Available Light is a broadcast and entertainment lighting design firm serving networks, cable, and live productions. It is a direct peer to LDG with the same customer base of broadcast networks and sports leagues, and competes for studio design and live event lighting engagements.
• Barbizon Lighting Company: Barbizon is a long-established lighting equipment distributor and systems integrator serving broadcast, film, theater, and architectural customers. It overlaps directly with LDG's systems integration work and competes for broadcast lighting infrastructure projects at major networks and venues.
• Communications Engineering Inc (CEI): CEI designs, integrates, and supports broadcast technology systems for television stations and networks, including lighting infrastructure, control rooms, and studio buildouts. It directly competes with LDG's systems integration practice for broadcast facility projects.
• ArcLighting Design: ArcLighting Design is a professional lighting design consultancy serving broadcast, corporate, and live event clients. It is comparable to LDG as a similarly sized specialist lighting design firm competing for broadcast and corporate studio engagements.

Broad incumbents

• Production Resource Group (PRG): PRG is one of the largest entertainment production services companies globally, providing lighting, video, and rigging for live events, concerts, and broadcast productions. While broader than LDG, PRG competes for the same live event and broadcast lighting work, especially on large-scale sports and concert productions.
• Solotech: Solotech is a major North American provider of audiovisual and entertainment technology, including lighting design and rental for live events, broadcast, and touring. It is comparable to LDG as a large incumbent offering overlapping production lighting services across broadcast and live entertainment.
• Fisher Marantz Stone: Fisher Marantz Stone is an established architectural lighting design firm with deep experience in museums, civic, and commercial interiors. While it focuses on architectural rather than broadcast work, it overlaps with LDG on the corporate / architectural-bundled lighting side of LDG's corporate offering.

Emerging players

• Lightswitch: Lightswitch is a US-based lighting design collective working across entertainment, architectural, and experiential projects. While its broadcast focus is narrower than LDG's, it competes for related commercial and live event lighting design work and overlaps in skill set.

Others

• Cineo Lighting: Cineo Lighting manufactures professional LED lighting fixtures widely used in film, broadcast, and live production. While a vendor rather than a direct competitor, its products underpin many of the broadcast lighting systems LDG designs and specifies, making it an adjacent ecosystem participant.
• ARRI: ARRI is a global manufacturer of professional film, television, and broadcast lighting and camera systems. While primarily a hardware vendor, ARRI is an adjacent peer through its deep involvement in broadcast and live event lighting technology that LDG specifies and integrates into its designs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-lighting-design-group

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Lighting Design Group