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EQUITY INVESTMENTS | 6 Months Ended
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Jun. 30, 2024
Equity Method Investments and Joint Ventures [Abstract] |
EQUITY INVESTMENTS | EQUITY INVESTMENTS The Company holds equity investments in Spiegel TV Geschichte und Wissen GmbH & Co. KG (the “Spiegel Venture”) and Watch Nebula LLC (“Nebula”). The Company accounts for these investments under the equity method of accounting. The Company’s carrying values for its equity method investments as of June 30, 2024, and December 31, 2023, were as follows:
(in thousands) | Spiegel Venture |  | Nebula |  | Total
Balance at December 31, 2023 | $ | 1,736 |  |  | $ | 4,618 |  |  | $ | 6,354 |
Equity method investment loss | (1,469) |  |  | (439) |  |  | (1,908) |
Balance at June 30, 2024 | $ | 267 |  |  | $ | 4,179 |  |  | $ | 4,446 |
SPIEGEL VENTURE In July 2021, the Company acquired a 32% ownership in the Spiegel Venture for an initial investment of $3.3 million. The Spiegel Venture, which prior to the Company’s equity purchase, was jointly owned and operated by Spiegel TV GmbH (“Spiegel TV”) and Autentic GmbH (“Autentic”), operates two documentary channels, together with an SVOD service as well as a free advertising-supported streaming television (FAST) channel, which provide factual content to pay television audiences in Germany and certain German-speaking regions of other countries. The Company has not received any dividends from the Spiegel Venture as of June 30, 2024. Per the Share Purchase Agreement (as amended in early 2023, the “SPA”), in the event the Spiegel Venture achieved certain financial targets during its 2022 fiscal period, the Company was required to make an additional payment related to its 32% equity ownership to both Spiegel TV and Autentic (the “Holdback Payment”). During the three months ended June 30, 2023, the Company determined the Spiegel Venture had achieved such financial targets, resulting in the Company paying a Holdback Payment in the amount of $0.9 million to the Spiegel Venture during July 2023. The Company has a call option that permits it to require Spiegel TV and Autentic to sell their respective ownership interests in the Spiegel Venture (the “Call Option”) to the Company. The Call Option, exercisable at a value based on a determinable calculation in the SPA, is initially exercisable only during the period that is the later of (i) 30 business days following the adoption of the Spiegel Venture’s audited financial statements for the fiscal year 2025, and (ii) the period between March 1, 2026, and March 31, 2026. Together with the Call Option, each of Spiegel TV and Autentic has a put option that permits it to require the Company to purchase their interest (the “Put Option”) at a value based on a determinable calculation outlined in the SPA. The Put Option is only exercisable during the period that is the later of (i) 60 business days following the adoption of the Spiegel Venture’s audited financial statements for the fiscal year 2025, and (ii) the period between April 1, 2026, and April 30, 2026. In the event the Call Option or the Put Option is not exercised, both options will continue to be available to each respective party in the following year through perpetuity, with its exercise limited to the same date range as outlined above. NEBULA Nebula is an SVOD technology platform built for and by a group of independent content creators. Prior to the Company’s investment, Nebula was a wholly owned subsidiary of Standard Broadcast LLC (“Standard”). On August 23, 2021, the Company purchased a 12% ownership interest in Nebula for $6.0 million. Upon its initial investment, the Company obtained 25% representation on Nebula’s Board of Directors. Since the time of its original investment, the Company purchased additional incremental ownership interests, each for a payment of $0.8 million and representing 1.625% of equity ownership, if Nebula met certain quarterly targets. The Company made three subsequent incremental purchases, bringing its total ownership interest in Nebula to 16.875% as of June 30, 2024. The opportunity or obligation to make additional purchases ended as of September 30, 2023. Because the Company did not purchase at least two consecutive ownership interests in Nebula, effective December 15, 2023, Standard removed the Company’s seat on the Nebula Board of Directors. The Company has not received dividends from Nebula as of June 30, 2024. Beginning August 2021, the Company included access to Nebula’s SVOD service as a part of a combined CuriosityStream / Watch Nebula subscription offer and as part of the Company’s Smart Bundle subscription package. As part of this arrangement, the Company shared revenue with Nebula, based on certain metrics, and paid monthly. On September 26, 2023, Nebula provided the Company with a notice of non-renewal, resulting in the expiration of the revenue share agreement at the end of 2023. Nebula was required to make its service available to subscribers of these offerings through the end of the term of any such subscription that existed as of December 31, 2023.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for equity method investments and joint ventures. Equity method investments are investments that give the investor the ability to exercise significant influence over the operating and financial policies of an investee. Joint ventures are entities owned and operated by a small group of businesses as a separate and specific business or project for the mutual benefit of the members of the group. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/recommendedDisclosureRef -Topic 740 -SubTopic 323 -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Section 50 -Paragraph 2 -Subparagraph (f) -Publisher FASB -URI https://asc.fasb.org/1943274/2147478156/740-323-50-2 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Topic 323 -SubTopic 10 -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Section 50 -Paragraph 3 -Subparagraph (a)(3) -Publisher FASB -URI https://asc.fasb.org/1943274/2147481687/323-10-50-3 Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Topic 323 -SubTopic 10 -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Section 50 -Paragraph 3 -Subparagraph (d) -Publisher FASB -URI https://asc.fasb.org/1943274/2147481687/323-10-50-3 Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 323 -Publisher FASB -URI https://asc.fasb.org/323/tableOfContent + Details
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