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Organization of Company

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

1.	Organization of Company

Description of Business

NTN Buzztime, Inc. (the “Company”) was incorporated in Delaware in 1984 as Alroy Industries and changed its corporate name to NTN Communications, Inc. in 1985. The Company changed its name to NTN Buzztime, Inc. in 2005 to better reflect the growing role of the Buzztime consumer brand.

The Company delivers interactive entertainment and innovative technology to its partners in a wide range of verticals – from bars and restaurants to casinos and senior living centers. By enhancing the overall guest experience, the Company believes it helps its hospitality partners acquire, engage, and retain patrons.

Through social fun and friendly competition, the Company’s platform creates bonds between our hospitality partners and their patrons, and between patrons themselves. The Company believes this unique experience increases dwell time, revenue, and repeat business for venues – and has also created a large and engaged audience which it connects with through its in-venue TV network. Until the significant disruptions to the restaurant and bar industry resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, or the pandemic, that began in March 2020, over 1 million hours of trivia, card, sports and arcade games were played on the Company’s network each month. Since March 2020, approximately 100,000 hours per month of such games have been played on the network each month.

The Company generates revenue by charging subscription fees to partners for access to its 24/7 trivia network, by selling and leasing tablet and hardware equipment for custom usage beyond trivia/entertainment, by selling digital-out-of-home (DOOH) advertising direct to advertisers and on national ad exchanges, by licensing the Company’s entertainment and trivia content to other parties, and by providing professional services such as custom game design or development of new platforms on the Company’s existing tablet form factor. Until February 1, 2020, the Company also generated revenue by hosting live trivia events. The Company sold all of its assets used to host live trivia events in January 2020. (See Note 4).

As of December 31, 2020, 1,036 venues subscribed to the Company’s interactive entertainment network and approximately 18% of its network subscriber venues were affiliated with national and regional restaurant brands. See Note 2 for more information regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on these venues and the Company’s subscription revenues.

The Company owns several trademarks and consider the Buzztime®, Playmaker®, Mobile Playmaker, and BEOND Powered by Buzztime trademarks to be among its most valuable assets. These and the Company’s other registered and unregistered trademarks used in this document are the Company’s property. Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Basis of Accounting Presentation

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of NTN Buzztime, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries: IWN, Inc., IWN, L.P., Buzztime Entertainment, Inc., NTN Wireless Communications, Inc., NTN Software Solutions, Inc., NTN Canada, Inc., NTN Buzztime, Ltd. and BIT Merger Sub Inc., all of which, other than NTN Canada, Inc. and BIT Merger Sub, Inc., are dormant subsidiaries. Unless otherwise indicated, references to the Company include its consolidated subsidiaries.

Reclassifications

Certain reclassifications have been made to the prior years’ financial statements to conform to the current year presentation. These reclassifications had no effect on previously reported results of operations or retained earnings.