NTN Buzztimes Q1 Revenue Decreases 11 Amid Tablet Entertainment Transition

CARLSBAD, CA -- Attributing losses to the tablet transition for in-venue entertainment and a slowdown in new installations due to production delays, NTN Buzztime Inc. said revenue for its first quarter, ended Mar. 31, was $5.7 million, compared with $6.4 million for the same period in 2014. The company reported a net loss of $2.3 million, or 2¢ a share, compared with $600,000, or 1¢ per share, in the same period a year ago.

NTN ended the first quarter of 2015 with 2,908 subscribing venues, compared with 2,956 as of Dec. 31. The number of BEOND installations increased to 1,236 locations, or 43% of the installed base, compared with 37% at Dec. 31. The BEOND conversion for Buffalo Wild Wings, NTN's largest client, increased to 788 sites from 710 at the end of the fourth quarter.

BEOND is NTN's tablet-based entertainment platform that allows guests to order food, request songs and television programming, play games (both multiplayer and arcade-style) and pay the bill. It stands for Buzztime Entertainment On Demand. The tablet technology, introduced in 2013, is replacing NTN's original Buzztime trivia content broadcast systems.

In April, NTN said it closed a three-year revolving credit agreement with East West Bank. The credit facility provides up to $7.5 million of borrowing capacity, with a $2.5 million "accordion" feature to up the capacity to $10 million.

"Our technology transformation continues to progress well," said NTN chief executive Ram Krishnan. "In the first quarter, we launched Jackpot Trivia (JPT) on our new game platform. JPT is tracking solidly as is the early testing for our new sports lineup, which is also utilizing our new game platform. In addition, our initiative for tableside ordering and closeout is advancing. We are currently launching self-service dining with longtime partner Arooga's."

Founded in July 2008, Arooga's Grille House & Sports Bar is a casual restaurant and bar with a sports and entertainment focus. It presently operates nine corporate locations in central Pennsylvania and recently opened its first franchise location in Uncasville, CT, adjacent to the Mohegan Sun casino.

NTN describes Jackpot Trivia as a fusion of traditional bar trivia, game show ambience and interactive gaming. It presents players with tens of thousands of questions from more than 100 contemporary trivia categories with a pop culture set ranging from Beyoncé to Big Bang Theory, sports topics such as Nascar, and geek subjects that include Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Star Wars and videogames. These questions are combined with familiar social game mechanics that make the game accessible to an audience wider than just trivia experts. For example, players can use "boosts" during gameplay when they are unsure of an answer or "double down" when they are certain they are correct.

Jackpot Trivia is NTN's first in-house product created in association with game designer Raph Koster, an innovator in social game mechanics who is known for such hit videogames as Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies. NTN said it will release a mobile version of the game on iOS and Android devices later this year.

In the 2014 full year, NTN reported revenue of $26 million, compared with $23.7 million in 2013. It posted a net loss of $5 million, or 6¢ a share, including expenses to support the BEOND platform rollout, and $668,000 in noncash capitalized software impairment charges. This compares with a 2013 net loss of $1.1 million, or 1¢ per share, which included less equipment rollout expenses and noncash capitalized software impairment charges of $230,000. More than 80 million Buzztime games were played in 2014.