SEC Form 10-K filed by Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment Inc.

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Director*

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

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For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023

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For the transition period from                to

Commission File Number:  001-38125

CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL ENTERTAINMENT, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

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855-398-0443

(Registrant’s Telephone Number, including Area Code)

Not Applicable

(Former Name or Former Address, if changed since last report)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

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Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined by Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ◻  No ⌧

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Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ◻  No ⌧

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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ⌧ No ◻

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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ⌧ No ◻

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

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If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’ s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit reports. ☐

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If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b).  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ⌧

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As of June 30, 2023, the aggregate market value of the shares of the registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates was approximately $24.1 million.

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The number of shares of Common Stock outstanding as of April 12, 2024 totaled 32,388,203 as follows:Number of

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*Each share convertible into one share of Class A common stock at the direction of the holder at any time.

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Documents Incorporated by Reference

Portions of the registrant’s Proxy Statement for Registrant’s 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed at a later date are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Annual Report”) contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: our core strategy; operating income and margin; seasonality; liquidity, including cash flows from operations, available funds and access to financing sources; free cash flows; revenues; net income; profitability; stock price volatility; future regulatory changes; pricing changes; the impact of, and the company's response to new accounting standards; action by competitors; user growth; partnerships; user viewing patterns; payment of future dividends; obtaining additional capital, including use of the debt market; future obligations; our content and marketing investments, including investments in original programming; amortization; significance and timing of contractual obligations; tax expense; recognition of unrecognized tax benefits; and realization of deferred tax assets. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to differ. A detailed discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from such forward-looking statements is included throughout this filing and particularly in Item 1A: "Risk Factors" section set forth in this Annual Report. All forward-looking statements included in this document are based on information available to us on the date hereof, and we assume no obligation to revise or publicly release any revision to any such forward-looking statement, except as may otherwise be required by law.

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In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words “target,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predicts,” “project,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking.

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The forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report are based on current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on our company and its subsidiaries. There can be no assurance that future developments will be those that have been anticipated. We may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in our forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. You should read this Annual Report and the documents we have filed as exhibits to this Annual Report completely and with the understanding our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect, or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in the forward-looking statements we make. Our forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any future acquisitions, mergers, dispositions, joint ventures or investments we may make.

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SUMMARY RISK FACTORS

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Our business involves various risks. Many of these risks are discussed in this Report under the heading “Item 1A. Risk Factors.” If any of these risks occur, our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations, prospects and ability to make interest payments to our noteholders and distributions to our shareholders could be materially and adversely affected. In that case, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you may lose a portion or your investment. These risks include:

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PART I

Our company, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, Inc., is referred to in this Annual Report on Form 10-K as “CSSE,” the Company,” or “we” or similar pronouns. References to:

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ITEM 1. Business

Overview of our Business

Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment provides premium content to value-conscious consumers. The Company is one of the largest advertising-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) companies in the US, with three flagship AVOD streaming services: Redbox, Crackle and Chicken Soup for the Soul. In addition, the Company operates Redbox Free Live TV, a free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) service with nearly 170 channels as well as a transactional video-on-demand (TVOD) service, and a network of approximately 27,800 kiosks across the U.S. for DVD rentals. To provide original and exclusive content to its viewers, the Company creates, acquires, and distributes films and TV series through its Screen Media and Chicken Soup for the Soul TV Group subsidiaries. The Company’s best-in-class ad sales organization is known to advertisers as Crackle Connex, a sales platform of unique scale and differentiated reach. Across Redbox, Crackle, Chicken Soup for the Soul and Screen Media, the Company has access to over 50,000 content assets, with over 60,000 programming hours. Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment is a subsidiary of Chicken Soup for the Soul, LLC, which publishes the famous books series and produces super-premium pet food under the Chicken Soup for the Soul brand name.

Our AVOD services boast approximately 40 million monthly active users and are distributed through every major distribution platform including Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung, Vizio, Xbox, PlayStation and many more. Our consumers view content produced through our various television production affiliates, acquired by Screen Media, or licensed from Sony Pictures Television (SPT), Lionsgate, Paramount, Fox, Warner Bros. Discovery, Disney and other production and distribution companies, as well as through our media partners. Crackle is among the most watched ad-supported independent VOD streaming services and has multiple branded FAST networks, all of which offer consumers free TV series and movies. Crackle is known for premium original and acquired content that delivers audiences of scale across a demographic spectrum.

Through our Chicken Soup for the Soul AVOD streaming service and FAST channel, we offer original and acquired unscripted lifestyle and scripted series and theatrical content that appeals to women and families.

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The acquisition of Redbox in August 2022 added another established brand and leading home entertainment provider to the Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment portfolio of companies. For over 20 years, Redbox has focused on providing U.S. customers with the best value in entertainment and the most choice in how they consume it, through physical media and/or digital services. Through its physical media business, consumers can rent or purchase new-release DVDs and Blu-ray Discs® from its nationwide network of thousands of self-service kiosks. In the recent past, Redbox transformed from a pure-play DVD rental company to a multi-faceted entertainment company, providing additional value and choice to consumers through multiple digital products across a variety of content windows. The Redbox digital business includes Redbox On Demand, a TVOD service offering digital rental and purchase of new release and catalog movies; Redbox Free On Demand, an AVOD service providing free movies and TV shows on demand; and Redbox Free Live TV, a FAST service providing consumers access to nearly 170 linear channels. Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment also generates revenue through its Redbox Service business by providing installation, merchandising and break-fix services to other kiosk operators, and via Crackle Connex, selling third-party display advertising within Redbox’s mobile app, website, and e-mails, as well as display and digital advertising at the kiosk.

Screen Media manages one of the industry’s largest independently owned television and film libraries consisting of approximately 20,000 films and television episodes driven historically by approximately 10 to 20 new theatrically released feature film and a few hundred direct-to-video acquisitions each year. Screen Media provides content for the Crackle portfolio and also distributes its library to other exhibitors and third-party networks to generate additional revenue and operating cash flow. Our Halcyon Television subsidiary manages the extensive film and television library we acquired from Sonar Entertainment in 2021. This library is distributed by Screen Media and contains more than 1,000 titles, and 4,000 hours of programming, ranging from classics, including The Little Rascals, Laurel & Hardy and Blondie (produced by Hal Roach Studios), to acclaimed epic event mini-series such as Lonesome Dove and Dinotopia. Our Halcyon library titles have received 471 Emmy Award nominations, 109 Emmy Awards and 15 Golden Globe Awards. In March of 2022, Screen Media acquired 1091 Pictures that added approximately 4,000 films and episodes of licensed content as well as established FAST and AVOD channels in genre specific verticals with approximately 1 billion yearly ad-impressions.

Chicken Soup for the Soul Television Group houses our film and television production activities and produces or co-produces original content for Crackle as well as content for other third-party networks. This group’s production efforts are conducted through a number of affiliates, including Landmark Studio Group Chicken Soup for the Soul Studios, Indian-centric Locomotive Global Inc., and Halcyon Studios, which was formed in connection with our acquisition of the assets of Sonar Entertainment. Halcyon Studios develops, produces, finances, and distributes high-caliber scripted content for our company for all platforms across a broad spectrum in the U.S. and internationally, including premium series such as Hunters (Amazon Prime) and Mysterious Benedict Society (Disney+).

Collectively, Screen Media and Chicken Soup for the Soul Television Group enable us to acquire, produce, co-produce and distribute content, including our original and exclusive content, in support of our streaming services. We believe that we are the only scaled independent AVOD business with the proven capability to acquire, create and distribute original programming, and that we have one of the largest libraries of company-owned and third-party content in the AVOD industry. We believe this differentiation is important as consumers materially shift their viewing habits from traditional network-scheduled, linear and broadcast viewing to individual, personalized on-demand viewing in response to the ever-growing availability of high-speed content delivery across devices.

The U.S. market for AVOD is projected to reach $24 billion in revenue in 2024, representing a growth rate of 21% over 2023. Industry projections estimate AVOD revenue to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11% between 2024 through 2027. At the same time, advertising spending on traditional linear television networks is expected to decline as more viewers transition from pay television subscriptions to connected TV (CTV) viewing. For these reasons, interest in the AVOD business model is increasing, evidenced by traditional linear network operators increasingly seeking to acquire or launch AVOD networks to maintain access to viewers making this transition and established SVOD players expanding their offerings to include a hybrid AVOD that in most cases still requires a subscription fee. We believe free AVOD networks will continue to experience accelerated growth, particularly as consumers seek affordable programming alternatives to multiple SVOD offerings.

Since our inception in January 2015, our business has grown rapidly. For the full year 2023, our net revenue was $294.4 million, as compared to the full year 2022 net revenue of $252.8 million. Our 2023 Adjusted EBITDA was approximately $(9.4) million, as compared to 2022 Adjusted EBITDA of $33.5 million. We had net losses of approximately $(636.6) million in 2023, as compared to net losses of $(111.3) million in 2022. As described below in “Use of Non-GAAP

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Financial Measure”, we use Adjusted EBITDA as an important metric for management. See “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition” and “Item 8. Financial Statements” for more information.

Our Strategy

We believe our company is in a differentiated position within the growing and evolving television industry, as we execute our strategy to become the leading provider of premium entertainment for value-conscious consumers. We identified the trends favoring the growth of free AVOD streaming services in 2015 and began building our direct-to-consumer (DTC) offering in 2017, including the development of our original content production strategy. Since then, with Crackle and Chicken Soup for the Soul, we have built premier ad-supported streaming services that deliver utility and value to viewers and advertisers. With the addition of Redbox, we have added an iconic and beloved brand that enhances our existing leadership in the AVOD landscape. Redbox’s connected TV app boasts a robust and integrated ad-supported VOD and free live TV (FAST) service. Redbox’s DVD rental kiosks and connected TV transactional VOD businesses are perfectly positioned to capitalize on the post-COVID resurgence of theatricals at the box-office. We believe Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment has the advantage of being unencumbered by the often-conflicting strategic choices and priorities faced by diversified media companies that own both legacy linear television networks and VOD streaming services intended to compete with legacy networks. We are singularly focused on the value-conscious consumer and serving that consumer with unique and differentiated offerings that feature a range of mass-appeal and thematic content, a focus on original and exclusive content, and which employ innovative user platforms and data analytics to deliver more personalized viewing experiences and more engaging advertising. We are executing on our strategy in multiple ways:

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Diverse sales channels. We employ a diverse and targeted advertising sales strategy, using direct, local reseller and programmatic sales channels to provide us with optionality based on market conditions. Most of our advertising revenues are derived from direct sales and programmatic direct agreements, which we believe give us greater margin contribution and control over our advertising avails than is possible with traditional programmatic advertising. The majority of our programmatic advertising sales are sold by our direct sales force and executed programmatically, providing greater insights and data to our customers, resulting in higher-than-normal programmatic CPMs.

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Competition

We are in a highly competitive business. The market for streaming entertainment is rapidly changing. We face competition from companies within the entertainment business and from alternative forms of leisure entertainment, such as travel, sporting events, outdoor recreation, video games, the internet and other cultural and computer-related activities. We compete for viewers and programming with companies such as Netflix, HBO Max, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus, Paramount Plus, Fox, and major film and television studios. We also compete with numerous independent motion picture and television distribution and production companies, television networks, pay television systems and online media platforms for viewers, subscribers, and the services of performing artists, producers and other creative and technical personnel and production financing, all of which are essential to the success of our businesses.

In addition, our video content competes for media outlet and audience acceptance with video content produced and distributed by other companies. As a result, the success of any of our video content is dependent not only on the quality and acceptance of a particular production, but also on the quality and acceptance of other competing video content available in the marketplace at or near the same time.

Given such competition, and our stage of development, we emphasize a lower cost structure, risk mitigation, reliance on financial partnerships and innovative financial strategies. We rely on our flexibility and agility as well as the entrepreneurial spirit of our employees, partners and affiliates, in order to provide creative, desirable video content.

Intellectual Property

We are party to the “CSS License Agreement,” (as defined) through which we have been granted the perpetual, exclusive, worldwide license by CSS to exclusively exhibit, produce and distribute video content using the Chicken Soup for the Soul brand and related content, such as stories published in the Chicken Soup for the Soul books. Chicken Soup for the Soul and related names are trademarks owned by CSS. We have the proprietary rights (including copyrights) in all company-produced content and believe the Brand provides a competitive advantage in attracting advertisers and entertainment talent.

We rely on a combination of copyright, trademark, trade secret laws, confidentiality procedures, contractual provisions and other similar measures to protect our proprietary information and intellectual property rights. Our ability to protect and enforce our intellectual property rights is subject to certain risks and from time to time we encounter disputes over rights and obligations concerning intellectual property, which are described more fully in the section titled “Risk Factors”.

Human Capital Management

At Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, we aim to bring out the best of our employees and consultants. We are committed to developing our employees and encourage and facilitate the development of our employees through our People Operations department. We depend on a highly educated and skilled workforce. We seek to advance a diverse, equitable and inclusive work environment for all employees. Our ability to attract, develop and retain the best talent, is critical for us to execute our strategy and grow our businesses.

As of December 31, 2023, we had 1,194 direct employees. The services of certain personnel, including our chairman and chief executive officer and our senior brand advisor and director, among others, are provided to us under the Management Services Agreement dated May 12, 2016, between us and CSS (“CSS Management Agreement”). We also utilize consultants in the ordinary course of our business and hire additional personnel on a project-by-project basis. We believe that our employee and labor relations are good, and we are committed to inclusion and strict policies and procedures to maintain a safe work environment. We have taken measures to protect our workforce in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including allowing employees to work from home when possible and implementing safety protocols to support our employees required to work onsite.

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ITEM 1A. Risk Factors

In connection with any consideration or evaluation of our company, you should read and carefully consider the risks associated with our business and operations, including those described below. Any of the risks could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations.

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Risks Related to Our Current Financial Condition

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There is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern and this could materially impact our ability to obtain capital financing and the value of our common and preferred stock.

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CSSE’s merger with Redbox occurred in August 2022. The merger included the assumption of $359.9 million of debt. The ability to service this debt was predicated on a partial return to pre-COVID levels in the number and cadence of theatrical releases that were available to the Company for its kiosk network, as well as cost synergies. The corresponding rebound in demand for physical kiosk rentals was expected to return to approximately a third of 2019 levels, along with expected synergies from the acquisition, would generate sufficient cash flows to cover the cash needs of the combined businesses. 

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Since the acquisition, operating results have not met management’s expectations, particularly Redbox’s kiosk rentals, resulting in insufficient cash flows and working capital to operate the business efficiently. The combination of these factors has resulted in an increasing number of defaults and/or contractual terminations across critical counterparties and service providers, impacting our ability to procure and monetize content efficiently across our distribution platforms.

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Due to the on-going impact of these factors on our future results of operations, cash flows and financial condition, as well as our inability to factor longer dated receivables under our credit facility constraints, there is substantial doubt as to the ability of the Company to continue as a going concern. The Company is considering strategic alternatives and transactions, as well as restructuring actions and initiatives to improve its efficiency and reduce its cost structure. However, there can be no assurance that these steps will be sufficient to mitigate the adverse trends we are experiencing in our businesses.

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Management may seek to implement further cost and capital expenditure reductions, as necessary. Even if the Company is able to achieve some or all of the contemplated actions, there can be no assurances that we can complete any such actions or strategic transactions in amounts sufficient to alleviate the substantial doubt regarding the Company's ability to continue as a going concern.

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If we cannot continue as a going concern, our stockholders would likely lose most or all of their investment in our company and holders of our indebtedness may also suffer material losses on their investments. Reports raising substantial doubt as to a company’s ability to continue as a going concern are generally viewed unfavorably by analysts and investors and could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial position, results of operations and liquidity.

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The level of indebtedness assumed in connection with our acquisition of Redbox has not been supported by the Redbox assets and businesses acquired, which has had a material adverse effect on our Company.

Key components of the Redbox business, including its DVD kiosk rental business, has continued to experience declines since the Merger. The businesses acquired from Redbox has not provided sufficient cash flow since the completion of the Merger to support the related indebtedness acquired by us in the Merger and as significantly hampered our company’s cash flow, which in turn has materially adversely affected our operations, including the businesses we operated prior to the Merger. Unless we are able to strategically reconfigure our businesses, the results of operations of the combined companies are likely to continue to be adversely affected by Redbox’s legacy businesses and debt, and we may continue to face risk factors that are different from those that individually affected the results of operations of CSSE and Redbox respectively prior to the Merger.

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We have entered into a term sheet with our principal lender setting forth the general terms of a mutual forbearance arrangement that would provide our company an opportunity to pursue certain refinancing and further capitalization transactions that, if successful, will result in settlement of all obligations to, and claims by and against, our principal lender, in the coming months. We are pressing forward expeditiously and assertively with documentation of a mutual forbearance agreement, and pressing to finalize all documents necessary to make these transactions and resolutions happen. However, we cannot assure you that the underlying disputes will ultimately be resolved in a manner that is satisfactory to us or which does not cause us material harm.

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If a definitive mutual forbearance agreement is entered into by our company and our principal lender (which, as of the date of this Annual Report, we are cautiously optimistic will occur), we will be required to consummate certain proposed transactions with third parties within a prescribed period of time and pay down an agreed amount of our loans with the lender in order to deem our credit facility satisfied in its entirety and render our dispute with our lender moot. There can be no assurance that we will be able to finalize a mutual forbearance agreement, consummate such proposed transactions, or generate sufficient capital to fully fund such payoff.

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Our board of directors has voted to form an independent directors committee to evaluate our strategic alternatives and our mutual forbearance arrangement with our principal lender also is expected to implement a strategic review committee within our board of directors.

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Our board of directors has voted to form an independent directors committee to evaluate, among other items, our strategic alternatives, which may include, among other options, potential mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, or other significant corporate transactions. Additionally, our mutual forbearance arrangement with our principal lender is expected to require the implementation of a strategic alternatives committee and related measures in circumstances where we have not consummated certain proposed transactions and made certain payments.

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While the formation of these committees and the implementation of related measures are intended to address our financial challenges, explore strategic options and enhance creditor and stockholder value, there are significant risks and uncertainties associated with these actions, including, but not limited to:

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These actions may have a significant impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operations, and there can be no assurance that they will ultimately result in the enhancement of shareholder value.

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We have recently lost key employees, which could adversely affect the future business and operations of CSSE going forward.

We are dependent on the experience and industry knowledge of our company’s officers and other key employees to execute our business plans. Since the Merger, we have experienced the loss of certain key employees, particularly

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within the Redbox businesses. It is possible that the employees of our combined companies may continue to experience uncertainty or disaffection about their roles within our company or about the operations of the combined companies going forward, which may have an adverse effect on our ability to retain or attract key management and other key personnel. No assurance can be given that we will be able to successfully retain or attract key management personnel and other key employees.

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We have experienced material disruptions in key business relationships and our inability to service all our indebtedness and other obligations.

Our business relationships with numerous customers, distributors, suppliers, vendors, landlords, joint venture partners, and other business partners have been materially hampered by our financial condition. As a result, we have experienced delays in accessing new content and ad sales inventory. This has also hurt our reputation and made it difficult to enter into new business relationships and negotiate changes to existing business relationships. These disruptions have had a material and adverse effect on the results of operations, cash flows and financial position of our company, as well as a material and adverse effect on our ability to realize the expected cost savings and other benefits of our merger with Redbox.

We have received a delisting notice from Nasdaq, which may diminish or eliminate an active trading market for our common stock, our 9.75% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Stock (“Series A Preferred Stock”), and outstanding publicly traded notes (“Notes”).

In March 2024, we received a notification from the NASDAQ Capital Market indicating that we have failed to comply with certain continued listing standards. Specifically, we do not meet the minimum bid price requirement and the minimum stockholders' equity threshold as prescribed by NASDAQ rules. This non-compliance presents several material risks to our company and our shareholders. We have appealed the delisting, but there can be no certainty that we will be successful. The appeals process will require us to put forth a definitive plan to regain and maintain compliance. If our appeal is not successful, our common stock, Series A preferred stock and Notes will be delisted, which would likely lead to reduced liquidity for our securities, limiting investors' ability to buy and sell such securities. This could also result in decreased visibility in the market and a reduction in the value of our securities. Failure to maintain our Nasdaq listing would make it more difficult and more expensive for us to raise capital, which would materially adversely affect our business and operations.

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We have significant indebtedness and other financial obligations that we have been unable to service as required, which has materially adversely affected CSSE, its operations and financial condition.

As of December 31, 2023, we had aggregate gross indebtedness of $562.4 million, including obligations under the HPS Credit Facility, MUFG Union Bank (formerly known as Union Bank) film financing facility, our outstanding publicly traded 9.50% notes (Nasdaq Symbol: CSSEN) and our capital leases. Our operations have not generated sufficient cash flow to cover such debt service obligations, and we require significant capital resource, which to date, we have been unable to obtain. Although we have been in negotiations with certain third parties for the provision of capital through specific financing transactions, these proposed transactions have not been consummated and may not be consummated at all or on terms that allow us to be in a position to functionally service all of our obligations as and when they are due. As a result, we may be required to seek protraction under applicable bankruptcy laws.

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We have not been able to generate surplus as required under Delaware law to service our monthly dividend under our Series A preferred stock and have currently ceased declaration and paying of such dividend.

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Our cash flows from operations, and resulting surplus/deficit metrics, have prevented us from legally declaring monthly dividends under our Series A preferred stock. In the event we fail to declare and pay such dividends for 18 consecutive months, the certificate of designations rights and preferences governing the Series A preferred stock provides certain remedies for holders, including, but not limited to the right to appoint at least two directors to our board of directors. Our inability to pay these dividends has likely hurt our reputation and market confidence in our company and has materially diminished the market price and desirability of our or Series A preferred stock. We may not be able to resume this dividend in the near future or at all.

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Risks Relating to COVID-19

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Our business, results of operations, and financial condition may be impacted by the evolution of the coronavirus (COVID-19).

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The global spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) and the various attempts to contain it have created significant volatility, uncertainty and economic disruption. In response to government mandates, health care advisories, and employee and vendor concerns, we altered certain aspects of our operations during the pandemic, including implementing a work from home policy for all our employees. We have now re-opened our offices. Many employees are returning to our offices as we operate under a “hybrid” working environment, where office employees may have the flexibility to work remotely at least some of the time. It is possible, however, that Covid-related conditions worsen, including as result of the emergence of new strains of the virus, which could force us to return to remote operations in whole or part. Although we believe we transitioned our operations to handle remote working conditions efficiently, requirements to implement remote working policies in the future could adversely impact our productivity and the internal controls over our operations.

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Although our operations have been returning to normal conditions, our business and results have been affected by COVID-19 and our financial results and metrics may not be indicative of results for future periods. In addition to production delays experienced by our company and third-party producers, we also saw material decreases, for a time, in advertising expenditures as a result of general economic conditions. Although we continually seek to build and retain our user base through the introduction of new content and improved user experiences, user growth could slow or reverse as government and other restrictions are relaxed.

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Any resurgence of COVID-19, including variants thereof, or an outbreak of other highly contagious viruses, could disrupt our business in material ways, including disruptions similar to those experienced during the pandemic as well as additional disruptions. During the pandemic, from time to time, the production of our content by our company and third-party producers was halted or slowed, limiting our ability to introduce new content as previously scheduled. To the extent any future economic disruption resulting from COVID-19 or similar pandemics is severe, we could see some vendors go out of business, resulting in supply constraints and increased costs or delays to our productions. Such production pauses may cause us temporarily to have less new content available on our services in subsequent quarters, which could negatively impact consumer demand for and user retention to our services. Temporary production pauses or permanent shutdowns in production could result in content asset impairments or other charges and will change the timing and amount of cash outflows associated with production activity.

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The full extent to which any future or continued outbreaks of COVID-19 or other viruses impact our business, operations and financial results will depend on numerous factors that we may not be able to accurately predict, including: the duration  and scope of the pandemic; governmental, business and individuals’ actions that have been and continue to be taken in response to the pandemic; the availability and cost to access the capital markets; the effect on our customers and customer demand for our services; disruptions or restrictions on our employees’ ability to work and travel; our ability to hire and retain qualified personnel as a result of increased competition for such personnel; our ability to access resources, including technology related resources needed for maintenance, modification, and improvement of our platforms, in the face of supply scarcity and supply pipeline delays; interruptions or restrictions related to the provision of streaming services over the internet, including impacts on content delivery networks and streaming quality; and any stoppages, disruptions or increased costs associated with our development, production, post-production, marketing and distribution of original programming.

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Risks Relating to Our Business

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We have incurred operating losses in the past, may incur operating losses in the future, and may never achieve or maintain profitability.

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As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, we had an accumulated deficit of approximately $(884.3) million and $(247.8) million, respectively, and for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, we had a net loss of approximately $(636.6) million and $(111.3) million, respectively. We expect our operating expenses to increase in the future as we continue to expand our operations. If our revenue and gross profit do not grow at a greater rate than our operating expenses, we will not be

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able to achieve and maintain profitability. Currently, we do not have adequate sources of liquidity to meet our anticipated requirements for working capital, capital expenditures, cash dividend payments on our 9.75% Series A preferred stock, and cash interest payments on our outstanding Notes, credit facilities, and other debt obligations. may require us to borrow additional funds for that purpose, restructure or otherwise refinance our debt. The inability to obtain additional financing resources, will likely require us to diminish or halt operations and seek protection under applicable bankruptcy laws.

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We have not realized the advantages we expect from our acquisitions.

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Part of our growth strategy has been the acquisition of scalable assets to build our business. Our relatively recent acquisitions of Redbox, 1091 Pictures, Crackle, and the assets of Sonar, required time-consuming and costly integration efforts. To date, these efforts have not been successful as we have not realized the anticipated benefits of such acquisitions and our operations have been adversely effected. We believe in. the value of these assets but would require additional capital resources to fully realize their value, and we may not be able to secure such capital resources on commercially reasonable terms or at all.

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We are subject to numerous other risks associated with acquisitions, business combinations, or joint ventures.

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As part of our growth strategy, we regularly engage in discussions with respect to possible acquisitions, sale of assets, business combinations, and joint ventures intended to complement or expand our business, some of which may be significant transactions for us. Regardless of whether we consummate any such transaction, the negotiation of a potential transaction could require us to incur significant costs and cause diversion of management’s time and resources.

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Integrating any business that we acquire may be distracting to our management and disruptive to our business and may result in significant costs to us. We could face several challenges in the consolidation and integration of information technology, accounting systems, personnel and operations. Any such transaction could also result in impairment of goodwill and other intangibles, development write-offs and other related expenses. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, operating results, liquidity and prospects.

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If our efforts to attract and retain new consumers are not successful, our business will continue to be adversely affected.

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Our success depends in part on attracting consumers, retaining them on our VOD services and physical rental business, and ultimately monetizing our VOD services and content offerings. As such, we are seeking to expand our consumer base and increase the number of hours that are streamed across our platforms, increase the number of rentals, expand our kiosk servicing business to create additional revenue opportunities. To attract and retain consumers, we need to be able to respond efficiently to changes in their tastes and preferences and to offer them access to the content they enjoy on terms that they accept. Our financial condition, however, has negatively affected our ability to provide our audiences with new content, which has hampered our operations. Similarly, effective monetization requires us to continue to update the features and functionality of our VOD offerings for consumers, content providers, DVD suppliers, and advertisers, and these efforts have been adversely affected by our limited financial resources.

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Changes in competitive offerings for entertainment video could adversely impact our business.

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The market for entertainment video is subject to rapid change. Through new and existing distribution channels, consumers have increasing options to access entertainment video. The various economic models underlying these channels include subscription, transactional, physical rental, and ad-supported models. All of these have the potential to capture meaningful segments of the entertainment video market. Traditional providers of entertainment video, including broadcasters and cable network operators, as well as internet-based e-commerce or entertainment video providers are increasing their streaming video offerings. Several of these competitors have long operating histories, large customer bases, strong brand recognition, exclusive rights to certain content and significant financial, marketing and other resources. Competitors may secure better terms from content suppliers and devote more resources to product development, technology, infrastructure, content acquisitions and marketing. New entrants may enter the market or existing providers may adjust their services with unique offerings or approaches to providing entertainment video. Our competitors also may enter into business combinations or alliances that strengthen their competitive positions. If we are unable to successfully or profitably compete

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with current and new competitors, our business may be adversely affected, and we may not be able to increase or maintain market share, revenues or profitability.

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Our long-term results depend on numerous operating factors including the results of our physical rental business, which has not improved following the Merger as anticipated.

Home entertainment is a rapidly evolving industry, making our business and prospects difficult to evaluate. The growth and profitability of this industry and the level of demand and market acceptance for our physical rental business, VOD platforms and content offerings are subject to a high degree of uncertainty. The success of our physical rental business depends in large part on our ability to obtain adequate content from movie studios, maintain contractual relationships with our retail partners in strategic, high-traffic locations, and effectively respond to ongoing cost- and pricing-related pressures. Cancellation, non-renewal, adverse renegotiation of or other changes to these relationships could seriously harm our business, reputation, financial condition and results of operations. We face ongoing pricing pressure from our retail partners to increase the service fees we pay to them on our products and services or to make other financial concessions to win or retain their business. If we are unable to respond effectively to ongoing pricing-related pressures, we may fail to win or retain certain accounts. To date, we have not experienced improvements in our physical rental business as anticipated prior to the Merger, which has materially harmed our operations and financial performance, which in turn, has limited available capital resources for our other operations. Absent our ability to secure additional capital resources and to reconfigure our operations in a manner sufficient to service our outstanding obligations and operating requirements, we may need to curtail some or all of our operations and may need to seek relief under applicable bankruptcy laws.

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We believe that the continued growth of streaming as an entertainment alternative will depend on the availability and growth of cost-effective broadband internet access, the quality of broadband content delivery, the quality and reliability of new devices and technology, the cost for viewers relative to other sources of content, as well as the quality and breadth of content that is delivered across streaming platforms. These technologies, products and content offerings continue to emerge and evolve. In addition, many advertisers continue to devote a substantial portion of their advertising budgets to traditional advertising, such as linear TV, radio and print. The future growth of our business depends on the growth of digital advertising, and on advertisers increasing their spend on such advertising. We cannot be certain that they will do so. If advertisers do not perceive meaningful benefits of digital advertising, the market may develop more slowly than we expect, which could adversely impact our operating results and our ability to grow our business.

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In addition, monetization of content that we produce and acquire from sources other than our AVOD network is an essential element of our strategy. Our ability in the long-term to obtain sponsorships, licensing arrangements, co-productions and tax credits and to distribute our original programming and acquired video content will depend, in part, upon the commercial success of the content that we initially produce and distribute and, in part, on the continued strength of the Chicken Soup for the Soul brand (the “Brand”). We cannot ensure that we will produce, acquire, and distribute successful content. The continued strength of the Brand will be affected in large part by the operations of our parent company, Chicken Soup for the Soul, LLC (“CSS”), the owner of the Brand, and its other business operations, none of which we control. CSS utilizes the Brand through its other subsidiaries for various commercial purposes, including the sale of books (including educational curriculum products), pet foods and other consumer products. Negative publicity relating to CSS or its other subsidiaries or the brand, or any diminution in the perception of the Brand could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, operating results, liquidity and prospects. We cannot assure you that we will manage the production and distribution of all of our video content successfully, that all or any portion of our video content will be met with critical acclaim or will be embraced by audiences on a one-time or repeated basis, or that the strength of the Brand will not diminish over time.

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We may not be successful in our efforts to further monetize our VOD services.

To be successful, our operations and services need to be scaled to effectively and reliably handle growth in transactions, users, and features. Since inception, we have developed technology and managed our business to address varied content offerings, industry best practices related to e-commerce and streaming video, as well as evolving legal and regulatory environments. While we historically experienced growth in our TVOD service, this growth was hampered following COVID-19 and the consummation of our Merger, and the resulting diminishment in cash flow and capital resources available for our operations. It is possible that we will not be able to continue to grow our revenues, or if growth is resumed, that it will be maintained for any significant period, or at all.

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Our AVOD platforms generate revenue primarily from digital advertising and audience development campaigns that run across our streaming platform and from content distribution services. Our ability to deliver more relevant advertisements to our viewers and to increase our platform’s value to advertisers and content publishers depends on the collection of user engagement data, which may be restricted or prevented by a number of factors. Viewers may decide to opt out or restrict our ability to collect personal viewing data or to provide them with more relevant advertisements. While we have experienced, and expect to continue to experience, growth in our revenue from advertising, our efforts to monetize our streaming platform through the distribution of AVOD content are still developing and our advertising revenue may not grow as we expect. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that we will be successful in monetizing our streaming platform through the distribution of ad-supported content. In addition, with the recent spread of the coronavirus throughout the United States and the rest of the world, companies’ advertising plans and amounts available for advertising may be significantly restricted or discontinued which could also impact our ability to monetize our AVOD platform.

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Our reliance on third parties for content, production and distribution could limit our control over the quality of the finished video content.

We currently have limited production capabilities and rely on relationships with third parties for much of these capabilities. Working with third parties is an integral part of our strategy to produce video content on a cost-efficient basis, and our reliance on such third parties could lessen the control we have over the projects. Should the third-party producers we rely upon not produce completed projects to the standards we expect and desire, critical and audience acceptance of such projects could suffer, which could have an adverse effect on our ability to produce and distribute future projects. In particular, due to the global spread of COVID-19, and in response to government mandates and healthcare advisories, we experienced delays in new content delivery as certain of our vendors and partners halted or diminished their operations. Further, during any continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic or after it fully subsides, we cannot be assured of entering into favorable agreements with third-party content producers on economically favorable terms or on terms that provide us with satisfactory intellectual property rights in the completed projects. Additionally, during 2023 and into 2024, our limited capital resources have materially adversely affected our relationships with third party content providers which, in turn, has harmed our business operations and financial performance. We may not be able to remedy our third-party relationships as required going forward.

There are risks related to our DVD kiosk rental business that have, and may continue, to negatively impact our business.

We have invested to maintain our infrastructure of Redbox kiosks in the United States. Optimizing our physical Redbox business depends substantially upon growth or minimizing decline in same store sales. To date, we have not been successful in preventing a downtrend in available Redbox locations. In addition, the home video distribution market is rapidly evolving as newer technologies and distribution channels compete for market share, and we have experienced a secular decline in the physical rental market. As this evolution continues, our DVD business and related operating results and financial condition will continue to be adversely affected, and secular declines may accelerate. As a result, our business has been materially adversely affected.

If we are unable to grow the client base of our third-party kiosk service business, our services line of business may be at risk.

We currently leverage our large and remote Redbox kiosk field workforce to provide services to our third-party kiosk owners. Our ability to engage and retain this workforce is necessary to merchandise and service our Redbox kiosks, meet the demands of our retail partners and users, and deliver service for our service business accounts. If we cannot continue to retain this workforce at adequate levels, our costs may rise, our service line of business may not meet committed service levels and our customers and retail partners may be dissatisfied. If the network of kiosks we service declines (including our own Redbox network of kiosks) or if we are unable to maintain key accounts (ecoATM and Amazon Locker being our largest clients) or obtain new clients, we may not be able to continue this line of business and obtain expected benefits and our business may be adversely affected.

If we do not manage the content and availability of our DVD library effectively, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

A critical element of our Redbox business model is optimizing our library of DVD titles, formats, and copy depth to achieve satisfactory availability rates to meet consumer demand while also maximizing margins. If we do not acquire sufficient DVD titles, we may not appropriately satisfy consumer demand, which could decrease consumer satisfaction

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and we could lose consumers to competitors. Conversely, if we attempt to mitigate this risk and acquire a larger number of copies to achieve higher availability rates for select titles or a wider range of titles, our library utilization would become less efficient and our margins for the Redbox business would be adversely affected. Our ability to accurately predict consumer demand as well as market factors, such as our ability to obtain satisfactory distribution arrangements, may impact our ability to acquire appropriate quantities of certain DVD titles in a timely manner. In addition, if we are unable to obtain or maintain favorable terms from our suppliers with respect to such matters as timely movie access, copy depth, formats and product destruction, among others, or if the price of DVDs increases or decreases generally or for certain titles, our library may become unbalanced, and our margins may be adversely affected.

Our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected if certain agreements do not provide the expected benefits to us. For example, agreements may require us to license minimum quantities of theatrical and direct-to-video DVDs for rental at our kiosks. If the titles or format provided are not attractive to our consumers, we could be required to purchase too many copies of undesirable titles or an undesirable format, possibly in substantial amounts, which could adversely affect our Redbox business by decreasing consumer demand for offered DVD titles and consumer satisfaction with our services or negatively impact margins.

If we are unable to comply with or lack the necessary internal controls to ensure appropriate documentation and tracking of our content library, we may, among other things, violate certain of our studio licensing arrangements, be forced to pay a fee for unaccounted DVDs and be susceptible to risks of theft and misuse of property, any of which may negatively affect our margins in the Redbox business. Any of these developments could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our failure to meet consumer expectations with respect to pricing our products and services may adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Demand for our products and services may be sensitive to pricing changes. We evaluate and update our pricing strategies from time to time, and changes we institute may have a significant impact on, among other things, our revenue and net income. In the future, fee increases or pricing changes may deter consumers from using our kiosks or reduce the frequency of their usage.

The long-term and fixed cost nature of our original or exclusive content distribution rights may limit our operating flexibility and could adversely affect our liquidity and results of operations. 

In connection with our exclusive licensing of content, we typically enter into multi-year commitments with studios and other content providers. We also enter into multi-year commitments for content that we have exclusive distribution rights to, either directly or through third parties, including elements associated with these productions such as non-cancelable commitments under talent agreements.

Given the multiple-year duration and largely fixed cost nature of some of our content commitments, if user acquisition and retention do not meet our expectations, or if we are unable to distribute and license such content to third parties, our margins may be adversely impacted. Payment terms for certain content commitments, such as content we have exclusive distribution rights to under the Screen Media or Redbox Entertainment brands, will typically require more up-front cash payments than other content licenses or arrangements whereby we do not provide minimum guarantees. To the extent user and/or revenue growth do not meet our expectations, our liquidity and results of operations could be adversely affected as a result of content commitments and payment requirements of certain agreements. In addition, the long-term and fixed cost nature of some of our content commitments may limit our flexibility in planning for or reacting to changes in our business and the market segments in which we operate. If we license and/or produce content that is not favorably received by consumers or third-party distributors, acquisition and retention may be adversely impacted and given the fixed cost nature of our content commitments, we may not be able to adjust our content offering quickly and our results of operation may be adversely impacted. Further, there is significant competition for exclusive content, which may limit our ability to acquire a sufficient number of titles or may cause increases in prices that impact profitability of titles acquired.

We may be unable to attract new partners, broaden current partner relationships, and penetrate new markets and distribution channels.

To increase the optimal availability of our products and services, we may need to attract new partners, or broaden and maintain relationships with current partners, and develop operational efficiencies that make it feasible for us to penetrate lower density markets or new distribution channels. Our limited financial resources have hurt various industry relationships and as a result our business and financial performance have been, and. continue to be, adversely affected.

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The termination, non-renewal or renegotiation on materially adverse terms of Redbox’s contracts or relationships with one or more of our significant retailers or studios could seriously harm its operations and our financial condition and results of operations.

The success of our DVD business depends in large part on our ability to maintain contractual relationships with our partners in profitable locations. Certain contract provisions with our partners vary, including product and service offerings, the fees we are committed to pay, and the ability to cancel the contract upon notice after a certain period of time. For our DVD business we typically enter multi-year kiosk installation agreements that automatically renew until we, or the retailer, gives notice of termination. We strive to provide direct and indirect benefits to our partners that are superior to, or competitive with, other providers or systems or alternative uses of the floor space that our kiosks occupy. We prefer to have our kiosks placed at strategic, high-traffic locations within a partner location. If we are unable to provide them with adequate benefits, we may be unable to maintain or renew our contractual relationships on acceptable terms, causing our business, financial condition and results of operations to suffer. Additionally, to the extent a partner desires to periodically remodel its stores, and to use the space previously allocated to Redbox for different purposes (e.g., home pickup and delivery services), our business, financial condition and results of operations could suffer. No individual retailer accounts for more than 10% of our consolidated revenue.

Redbox’s business also depends on our ability to obtain adequate content from movie studios. We have entered into licensing agreements with certain studios to provide delivery of their DVDs. These movie studios have terminated our relationship due to our inability to pay their licenses fees and will need to be reinstated, when and if, the Company is able secure additional capital. If we are unable to maintain or renew our current relationships to obtain movie content on acceptable terms, our business, financial condition and results of operations will continue to suffer.

If some or all of these agreements prove beneficial but are terminated early, we could be negatively impacted. Moreover, if we cannot maintain similar arrangements in the future with these or other studios or distributors, or these arrangements do not provide the expected benefits to us, our business could suffer.

Payment of increased fees to retailers or other third-party service providers could negatively affect our business results.

We face ongoing pricing pressure from our retailers to increase the service fees we pay to them on our products and services or to make other financial concessions to win or retain their business. If we are unable to respond effectively to ongoing pricing-related pressures, we may fail to win or retain certain accounts. Our fee arrangements are based on our evaluation of unique factors with each retailer, such as total revenue, long-term, non-cancelable contracts, installation of our kiosks in high-traffic, geographic locations and new product and service commitments. Together with other factors, an increase in service fees paid, or other financial concessions made to our retailers could significantly increase our direct operating expenses in future periods and harm our business.

We are subject to payment processing risk.

We accept payment for movie rentals through debit card, credit card and online wallet transactions. We rely on internal systems as well as those of third parties to process payments. The Durbin amendment to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is unfavorable to us. We pay interchange and other fees, which have increased and may increase further over time. Further, because Redbox processes millions of small dollar amount transactions, and interchange fees represent a larger percentage of card processing costs compared to a typical retailer, we are relatively more susceptible to any fee increase. When interchange or other fees increase, it generally raises our operating costs and lowers our profit margins or requires that we charge our customers more for our products and services. To the extent there are increases in payment processing fees, material changes in the payment ecosystem, such as large re-issuances of payment cards, delays in receiving payments from payment processors, changes to rules or regulations concerning payments, loss of payment partners and/or disruptions or failures in our payment processing systems, partner systems or payment products, including products we use to update payment information our revenue, operating expenses and results of operation could be adversely impacted. In addition, from time to time, we encounter fraudulent use of payment methods, which could impact our results of operations and if not adequately controlled and managed could create negative consumer perceptions of our service. If we are unable to maintain our fraud and chargeback rate at acceptable levels, card networks may impose fines, our card approval rate may be impacted, and we may be subject to additional card authentication requirements. The termination of our ability to process payments on any major payment method would significantly impair our ability to operate our business.

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We depend upon third-party manufacturers, suppliers and service providers for key components and substantial support for our kiosks.

We conduct limited manufacturing and refurbishment operations and depend on outside parties to manufacture key components of our kiosks. Third-party manufacturers may not be able to meet our manufacturing needs in a satisfactory and timely manner. If there is an unanticipated increase in our manufacturing needs which are not met in a timely and satisfactory manner, we may be unable to meet demand due to manufacturing limitations.

Some key hardware components used in our kiosks are obtained from a limited number of suppliers. We may be unable to continue to obtain an adequate supply of these components from our suppliers in a timely manner or, if necessary, from alternative sources. If we are unable to obtain sufficient quantities of components from our current suppliers or locate alternative sources of supply in a timely manner, we may experience delays in installing or maintaining our kiosks, either of which could seriously harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Redbox has faced global supply chain challenges with certain key hardware components used in our kiosks being delayed. These supply chain constraints have resulted in inflationary pressure on component costs, longer lead times, and increased freight costs caused, in part, by the COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertain economic environment. In addition, current or future governmental policies may increase the risk of inflation, which could further increase the costs of components for our kiosks. If we are unable to mitigate the impact of supply chain constraints and inflationary pressure, our results of operations and financial condition could be negatively impacted. 

Our business can be adversely affected by severe weather, natural disasters and other events beyond our control, such as earthquakes, fires, power failures, telecommunication loss, impacts from climate change and terrorist attacks.

Our assets are located in areas that may be subject to natural disasters, such as earthquakes, and extreme weather conditions, including, but not limited to, hurricanes, floods, tornados, wildfires, and winter storms. These assets may be vulnerable to natural disasters, including those exacerbated by the effects of climate change, telecommunications failures, and similar events. Such natural disasters, extreme weather conditions, or other events beyond our control may damage our kiosks and negatively impact our digital business and can, for extended periods of time, significantly reduce consumer use of our products and services as well as interrupt the ability of our employees and third-party providers to operate and service our legacy and digital businesses. We are also exposed to various risks arising out of man-made disasters, including acts of terrorism and ongoing military actions, the continued threat of which could cause significant volatility in financial markets, or otherwise trigger economic downturns. 

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A catastrophic event that results in the destruction or disruption of any of our critical business or information technology systems could harm our ability to conduct normal business operations and our operating results. Material operating issues arising from such events could also harm our company brand or reputation, which may impact our ability to acquire and retain users, as well as scale and sell advertising to brand and advertising partners. Such losses may not be fully covered by insurance. We do not currently expect that compliance with government laws and regulations concerning the environment and those designated to address climate risk will have a material effect upon its capital expenditures, cash flow, financial condition, earnings and competitive position.

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An integral part of our strategy is to initially minimize our production, content acquisition and distribution costs by utilizing funding sources provided by others, however, such sources may not be readily available.

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The production, acquisition and distribution of video content can require a significant amount of capital. As part of our strategy, we seek to fund the production, content acquisition, and distribution of our video content through co-productions, tax credits, film acquisition advances, upfront fees from sponsors, licensors, broadcasters, cable and satellite outlets and other producers and distributors, as well as through other initiatives. Such funding from the aforementioned sources or other sources may not be available on attractive terms or at all, as and when we need such funding. To the extent we are not able to secure agreements of this sort, we may need to curtail the amount of video content being produced or acquired by us or use our operating or other funds to pay for such video content, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, operating results, liquidity and prospects. Due to the effect of the coronavirus, sponsors may not have the interest or ability to enter into and invest in co-production agreements on terms that are attractive to us or at all.

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As we grow, we may seek to fund and produce more of our video content directly, subjecting us to significant additional risks.

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Our current strategy of funding the production, acquisition, and distribution of our video content through the payment of upfront fees by third parties may limit the backend return to us. If we should determine to use our own funds to produce, acquire, and distribute more of our video content in order to capture greater backend returns, we would face significant additional risks, such as the need to internally advance funds ahead of revenue generation and cost recoupment and the need to divert some of our resources and efforts away from other operations. In order to reduce these risks, we may determine to raise additional equity or incur additional indebtedness. In such event, our stockholders and our company will be subjected to the risks associated with issuing more equity or increasing our debt obligations.

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If studios, content providers or other rights holders are unable or refuse to license content or other rights upon terms acceptable to us, our business could be adversely affected.

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Our ability to provide content depends on studios, content providers and other rights holders licensing rights to distribute such content and certain related elements thereof, such as the public performance of music contained within the content we distribute. If studios, content providers and other rights holders are not or are no longer willing or able to license us content upon terms acceptable to us, our ability to provide content will be adversely affected and/or our costs could increase. Increasingly, studios and other content providers have been developing their own streaming services, and may be unwilling to provide us with access to certain content so that they can give exclusive access to their own streaming services. Under a limited number of our license agreements, content owners can withdraw content from us relatively quickly and with short notice. If we do not maintain content that our viewers are interested in, our viewership may decrease and our business could be adversely affected.

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Certain conflicts of interest may arise between us and our affiliated companies and we have waived certain rights with respect thereto.

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Our certificate of incorporation includes a provision stating that we renounce any interest or expectancy in any business opportunities that are presented to us or our officers, directors or stockholders or affiliates thereof, except as may be set forth in any written agreement between us and any of the CSS Companies (such as the CSS License Agreement under which CSS has agreed that all video content operations shall be conducted only through our company). This provision also states that, to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law, our officers, directors and employees shall not be liable to us or our stockholders for monetary damages for breach of any fiduciary duty by reason of any of our activities or any activities of any of the CSS Companies. As a result of these provisions, there may be conflicts of interest among us and our officers, directors, stockholders or their affiliates, including the CSS Companies, relating to business opportunities, and we have waived our right to monetary damages in the event of any such conflict.

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We are required to make continuing payments to our affiliates, which may reduce our cash flow and profits.

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In consideration for use of the Brand, and the provisions of key operational resources to our company, we are required to make significant payments to our affiliates as described under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Management and License Fees Affiliate company” in this Form 10-K. Accordingly, in the aggregate, 10% of our net revenue is paid to our affiliates on a continuous basis and will not be otherwise available to us.  Beginning in August 2022, under the terms of the HPS Credit Facility, the 10% fee as it relates to Redbox’s net revenues is applied to certain limited revenue categories. As we grow our revenues, these payments could become materially more costly than building and acquiring the same resources directly within our company. Similarly, as we build our business and operations in areas outside of the Brand, the value received from licensing the Brand could diminish on absolute and relative terms. In March of 2023, the Company entered into a modification of the CSS Management Agreement and CSS License Agreement pursuant to which (a) $3.45 million of the aggregate fees under the CSS Management Agreement and CSS License Agreement that have been earned by CSS in the first quarter of 2023 and (b) 25% (or $12.75 million) of the next $51 million of such fees that will be earned by CSS after April 1, 2023 shall be paid through the issuance by our Company of shares of our Class A common stock. The Company has issued an aggregate of 2,025,927 shares of Class A common stock to CSS under the modification as of December 31, 2023. The shares that shall become issuable in the future under clause (b) shall be issued each fiscal quarter as such fees are earned at a fixed

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price of $3.05 per share. As of December 31, 2023, $6.2 million of accrued and payable management and license fees have been satisfied through the issuance to CSS shares of Class A common stock, and an aggregate of $6.6 million of future management and license fees will be offset by the issuance of Class A common stock to CSS in the periods after December 31, 2023.

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If a project we are producing incurs substantial budget overruns, we may have to seek additional financing from outside sources to complete production or fund the overrun ourselves.

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If a production we are funding incurs substantial budget overruns, we may have to seek additional financing from outside sources to complete production or fund the overrun ourselves. We cannot be certain that any required financing will be available to us on commercially reasonable terms or at all, or that we will be able to recoup the costs of overruns. Increased costs incurred with respect to a project may result in the production not being ready for release at the intended time, which could cause a decline in the commercial performance of the project. Budget overruns could also prevent a project from being completed or released at all and adversely affect our operating results.

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Our operating results may fluctuate.

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Our operating results are dependent, in part, on management’s estimates of revenue to be earned over the life of a project. We will regularly review and revise our revenue estimates. This review may result in a change in the rate of amortization and/or a write-down of the video content asset to its estimated realizable value. Results of operations in future years depend upon our amortization of our video content costs. Periodic adjustments in amortization rates may significantly affect these results. Further, as many of our third-party relationships will be on a project-by-project basis, the profits, if any, generated from various projects will fluctuate based on the terms of the agreements between us and our third-party producers and distributors.

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Variations in our quarterly and year-end operating results are difficult to predict and our income and cash flows may fluctuate significantly from period to period, which may impact our board of directors’ willingness or legal ability to declare and pay the dividends on our preferred stock. Specific factors that may cause fluctuations in our operating results include:

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As a result of the foregoing and other factors, our results of operations may fluctuate significantly from period to period, and the results of any one period may not be indicative of the results for any future period.

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Distributors’ failure to promote our video content could adversely affect our revenue and could adversely affect our business results.

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We will not always control the timing and way in which the distributors to which we license our content will distribute our video content offerings. However, their decisions regarding the timing of release and promotional support are important in determining our success. Any decision by those distributors not to distribute or promote our video content or to promote our competitors’ video content to a greater extent than they promote our content could adversely affect our business, financial condition, operating results, liquidity and prospects.

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We are smaller and less diversified than many of our competitors.

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Some of the AVOD and TVOD services, and many of the producers and studios, with which we compete are part of large diversified corporate groups with a variety of other operations, including television networks, cable channels and other diversified companies, such as Amazon or Apple, which can provide both the means of distributing their products, content flow, and stable sources of earnings that may allow them to better offset fluctuations in the financial performance of their operations. In addition, the major studios have more resources with which to compete for ideas, storylines and scripts created by third parties as well as for actors, and other personnel required for production. The resources of the major producers and studios may also give them an advantage in acquiring other businesses or assets, including video content libraries, that we might also be interested in acquiring.

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We face risks from doing business internationally.

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We intend to increase the distribution of our video content outside the U.S. and thereby derive significant revenue in foreign jurisdictions. As a result, our business is subject to certain risks inherent in international business, many of which are beyond our control. These risks include:

Events or developments related to these and other risks associated with international trade could adversely affect our revenue from non-U.S. sources, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, operating results, liquidity and prospects.

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The effects on our business of the war in Ukraine or the military actions in Israel-Gaza, or the direct military involvement of the United States in such conflicts, or any similar conflicts anywhere in the world, and the ramifications of sanctions against Russia or Israel or other counties, are unknown and could be material.

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Our business could be materially affected by hostilities in other countries. Adverse effects could arise from reduced viewership in our international content offerings, disruptions in Internet availability, heightened risks of cyberattacks perpetrated by government actors, or slowdowns or halts in the production of content being created in other countries. The effects on our business of any specific conflicts, including the current war in Ukraine and any escalation of such war to neighboring countries, or the direct military involvement of the United States in such conflict, or any similar conflicts anywhere in the world, including Israel or other areas of the Middle East, cannot be predicted, but could be material and adverse. Direct US military involvement could heighten international and other risks we already face. Similarly, the ramifications of sanctions put in place by the United States against Russia or Israel or other counties on our business are

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unknown and could be material. Our business could be harmed by retaliatory sanctions or actions taken by a country in response to US sanctions, and significant as a result of numerous circumstances arising from same, including prohibitions on the dissemination of US-based video services in certain countries, military actions, cyber-attack initiatives, and other measures that cannot be predicted.

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Protecting and defending against intellectual property claims may have a material adverse effect on our business.

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Our ability to compete depends, in part, upon successful protection of our intellectual property relating to our video content, including our copyrighted content, and the protection of the Chicken Soup for the Soul brand. We protect proprietary and intellectual property rights to our productions through available copyright and trademark laws and licensing and distribution arrangements with reputable international companies in specific territories and media. Under the terms of the CSS License Agreement, CSS has the primary right to take actions to protect the Brand, and, if it does not, and we reasonably deem any infringement thereof is materially harmful to our business, we may elect to seek action to protect the Brand ourselves. Although in the former case, we would equitably share in any recovery, and in the latter case, we would retain the entirety of any recovery, should CSS determine not to prosecute infringement of the Brand, we could be materially harmed and could incur substantial cost in prosecuting an infringement of the Chicken Soup for the Soul brand.

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Others may assert intellectual property infringement claims against us.

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It is possible that others may claim from time to time that our productions and production techniques misappropriate or infringe the intellectual property rights of third parties with respect to their previously developed content, stories, characters and other entertainment or intellectual property. Additionally, although CSS is obligated to indemnify us for claims related to our use of the Chicken Soup for the Soul brand in accordance with the CSS License Agreement, we could face lawsuits with respect to claims relating thereto. Irrespective of the validity or the successful assertion of any such claims, we could incur significant costs and diversion of resources in defending against them, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, operating results, liquidity and prospects.

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Our business involves risks of liability claims for video content, which could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

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As a producer and distributor of video content, we may face potential liability for defamation, invasion of privacy, negligence and other claims based on the nature and content of the materials distributed. These types of claims have been brought, sometimes successfully, against producers and distributors of video content. Any imposition of liability that is not covered by insurance or is in excess of insurance coverage could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, operating results, liquidity and prospects.

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Piracy of video content may harm our business.

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Video content piracy is extensive in many parts of the world, including South America, Asia, and certain Eastern European countries, and is made easier by technological advances and the conversion of video content into digital formats. This trend facilitates the creation, transmission and sharing of high-quality unauthorized copies of video content on DVDs, Blu-ray discs, from pay-per-view through set-top boxes and other devices and through unlicensed broadcasts on free television and the internet. The proliferation of unauthorized copies of our video content could have an adverse effect on our business.

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Any significant disruption in our technology backbone or the computer and data systems of third parties that we utilize in our operations could result in a loss or degradation of service and could adversely impact our business.

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Our business involves 24-hour per day availability and delivery of video content. We utilize proprietary and third-party computer and data systems for the storage and delivery of our content, placement and delivery of our advertising inventory, and the creation of the user experience. Our reputation and ability to attract, retain and serve our viewers is dependent upon the reliable performance of these computer and data systems. These systems may be subject to damage or interruption from earthquakes, adverse weather conditions, other natural disasters, terrorist attacks, power loss, telecommunications failures, computer viruses, computer denial of service attacks or other attempts to harm these systems. Interruptions in these systems or to the internet in general, could make our content unavailable or impair our ability to deliver such content.

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Our online activities are subject to a variety of laws and regulations relating to privacy, which, if violated, could limit our ability to collect and use customer data and subject us to an increased risk of litigation and regulatory actions.

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In addition to our websites, we use third-party applications, websites, and social media platforms to promote our video content offerings and engage consumers, as well as monitor and collect certain information about consumers, which may include personally identifiable information and other data. There are a variety of laws and regulations governing individual privacy and the protection and use of information collected from such individuals, particularly in relation to an individual’s personally identifiable information, including the federal Video Privacy Protection Act. Laws relating to data privacy and security continue to proliferate, often with little harmonization between jurisdictions and limited guidance. A number of existing bills are pending in the U.S. Congress and other government bodies that contain provisions that would regulate, how companies can use cookies and other tracking technologies to collect, use and share user information. The United States is seeing the adoption of state-level laws governing individual privacy. This includes the California Consumer Protection Act, Massachusetts General Law 93H and regulations adopted thereunder, and the New York SHIELD Act. Many foreign countries and supranational organizations have adopted similar laws governing individual privacy, such as the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), some of which are more restrictive than similar United States laws. If our online activities or the activities of the third parties that we work with were to violate or were perceived to violate any applicable current or future laws and regulations that limit our ability to collect, transfer, and use data, we could be subject to litigation from both private rights of action, class action lawsuits, and regulatory actions, including fines and other penalties, as well as harm to our reputation and market position. Internationally, we may become subject to evolving, additional and/or more stringent legal obligations concerning our treatment of customer and other personal information, such as laws regarding data localization and/or restrictions on data export. Failure to comply with these obligations could subject us to liability and/or reputational damage, and to the extent that we need to alter our business model or practices to adapt to these obligations, we could incur additional expenses.

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If government regulations relating to the internet or other areas of our business change, we may need to alter the way we conduct our business or incur greater operating expenses.

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The adoption or modification of laws or regulations relating to the internet or other areas of our business could limit or otherwise adversely affect the way we currently conduct our business. In addition, the continued growth and development of the market for online commerce may lead to more stringent consumer protection laws, which may impose additional burdens on us such as the EU’s GDPR. If we are required to comply with new regulations or legislation or new interpretations of existing regulations or legislation, this compliance could cause us to incur additional expenses or alter our operations.

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If we experience rapid growth, we may not manage our growth effectively, execute our business plan as proposed or adequately address competitive challenges.

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We anticipate continuing to grow our business and operations rapidly. Our growth strategy includes organic initiatives and acquisitions. Such growth could place a significant strain on the management, administrative, operational and financial infrastructure we utilize, a portion of which is made available to us by our affiliates under the Management Agreement. Our long-term success will depend, in part, on our ability to manage this growth effectively, obtain the necessary support and resources under the CSS Management Agreement, and grow our own internal resources as required, including internal management and staff personnel. To manage the continued growth of our operations and personnel, we also will need to increase our internal operational, financial and management controls, and our reporting systems and procedures. Failure to effectively manage growth could result in difficulty or delays in producing our video content, declines in overall project quality and increases in costs. Any of these difficulties could adversely impact our business financial condition, operating results, liquidity and prospects.

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Our exclusive license to use the Chicken Soup for the Soul Brand could be terminated in certain circumstances.

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We do not own the Chicken Soup for the Soul Brand. The Brand is licensed to us by CSS under the terms of the CSS License Agreement. CSS controls the Brand, and the continued integrity and strength of the Chicken Soup for the Soul Brand will depend in large part on the efforts and businesses of CSS and how the Brand is used, promoted and protected by CSS, which will be outside of the immediate control of our company. Although the license granted to us under the CSS

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License Agreement is perpetual, it may be terminated by CSS upon the cessation of our business, our bankruptcy, liquidation, or insolvency, or if we fail to pay any sums due or otherwise fail to perform under the License Agreement within 30 days following delivery of a second written notice by CSS.

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We may not be able to realize the entire book value of goodwill and other intangible assets from our acquisitions.

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As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, we had net intangible assets of $35.9 million and $305.4 million , respectively, and goodwill of $120.5 million and $260.7 million, respectively, primarily related to the merger with Redbox, the formation of Crackle Plus, the acquisition of the Crackle assets, Sonar assets and other acquisitions. We assess goodwill and other intangible assets for impairment at least annually and more frequently if certain events or circumstances warrant. If the book value of goodwill or other intangible assets is impaired, any such impairment would be charged to earnings in the period of impairment. In third quarter of 2023 we recorded an impairment charge related certain intangibles and goodwill of $380.8 million principally related to the underperformance of Redbox. A sustained deterioration in business further, including our inability to consummate additional financings under our strategic initiatives discussed elsewhere, could result in additional impairments in the future, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

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Claims against us relating to any acquisition or business combination may necessitate our seeking claims against the seller for which the seller may not indemnify us or that may exceed the seller’s indemnification obligations.

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There may be liabilities assumed in any acquisition or business combination that we did not discover or that we underestimated in the course of performing our due diligence. Although a seller generally may have indemnification obligations to us under an acquisition or merger agreement, these obligations usually will be subject to financial limitations, such as general deductibles and maximum recovery amounts, as well as time limitations. In certain circumstances we obtain representation and warranties insurance related to our acquisitions, but these too have limitations and conditions that could prevent recovery in certain circumstances. We cannot assure you that our right to indemnification from any seller will be enforceable, collectible or sufficient in amount, scope or duration to fully offset the amount of any unknown or underestimated liabilities that we may incur. Any such liabilities, individually or in the aggregate, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, operating results, liquidity and prospects.

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Our success depends on our management and relationships with our affiliated companies.

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Our success depends to a significant extent on the performance of our management personnel and key employees, including production and creative personnel, made available to us through the CSS Management Agreement. The loss of the services of such persons or the resources supplied to us by our affiliated companies could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, operating results, liquidity and prospects.

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Since most of our content is digitally stored and distributed online, and we accept online payments for various subscription services, we face numerous cybersecurity risks.

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We utilize information technology systems, including third-party hosted servers and cloud-based servers, to host our digital content, as well as to keep business, financial, and corporate records, communicate internally and externally, and operate other critical functions. If any of our internal systems or the systems of our third-party providers are compromised due to computer virus, unauthorized access, malware, and the like, then sensitive documents could be exposed or deleted, and our ability to conduct business could be impaired.

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Cyber incidents can result from deliberate attacks or unintentional events. These incidents can include, but are not limited to, unauthorized access to our systems, computer viruses or other malicious code, denial of service attacks, malware, ransomware, phishing, SQL injection attacks, human error, or other events that result in security breaches or give rise to the manipulation or loss of sensitive information or assets. Cyber incidents can be caused by various persons or groups, including disgruntled employees and vendors, activists, organized crime groups, and state-sponsored and individual hackers. Cyber incidents can also be caused or aggravated by natural events, such as earthquakes, floods, fires, power loss, and telecommunications failures.

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To date, we have not experienced any material losses relating to cyber-attacks, computer viruses, or other systems failures. Although we have taken steps to protect the security of data maintained in our information systems, it is possible that our security measures will not be able to prevent the systems’ improper functioning or the improper disclosure of personally identifiable information, such as in the event of cyber-attacks. In addition to operational and business consequences, if our cybersecurity is breached, we could be held liable to our customers or other parties in regulatory or other actions, and we may be exposed to reputation damages and loss of trust and business. This could result in costly investigations and litigation, civil or criminal penalties, fines, and negative publicity. 

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Certain information relating to our customers, including personally identifiable information and credit card numbers, is collected and maintained by us, or by third parties that do business with us or facilitate our business activities. This information is maintained for a period of time for various business purposes, including maintaining records of customer preferences to enhance our customer service and for billing, marketing, and promotional purposes. We also maintain personally identifiable information about our employees. The integrity and protection of our customer, employee and our data is critical to our business. Our customers and our employees expect that we will adequately protect their personal information, and the regulations applicable to security and privacy are increasingly demanding. Privacy regulation is an evolving area and compliance with applicable privacy regulations may increase our operating costs or adversely impact our ability to service our customers and market our properties and services.

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The occurrence of natural or man-made disasters could result in declines in business that could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

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We are exposed to various risks arising out of natural disasters, including earthquakes, hurricanes, fires, floods, landslides, tornadoes, typhoons, tsunamis, hailstorms, explosions, climate events or weather patterns and pandemic health events (such as the recent pandemic spread of the novel corona virus known as COVID-19 virus, duration and full effects of which are still uncertain), as well as man-made disasters, including acts of terrorism, military actions, cyber-terrorism, explosions and biological, chemical or radiological events. The continued threat of terrorism and ongoing military actions may cause significant volatility in global financial markets, and a natural or man-made disaster could trigger an economic downturn in the areas directly or indirectly affected by the disaster. These consequences could, among other things, result in a decline in business. Disasters also could disrupt public and private infrastructure, including communications and financial services, which could disrupt our normal business operations. A natural or man-made disaster also could disrupt the operations of our partners and counterparties or result in increased prices for the products and services they provide to us.

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Our certificate of incorporation provides, subject to limited exceptions, that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware is the sole and exclusive forum for certain stockholder litigation matters, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers, employees or stockholders.

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Our certificate of incorporation requires, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that derivative actions brought in our name, actions against directors, officers and employees for breach of fiduciary duty and other similar actions may be brought only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware (or if the Court of Chancery does not have jurisdiction, another state court located within the State of Delaware, or if no state court located within the State of Delaware has jurisdiction, the federal district court for the District of Delaware) and, if brought outside of Delaware, the stockholder bringing the suit will be deemed to have consented to the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located within the State of Delaware and to service of process on such stockholder’s counsel. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital stock shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to the forum provisions in our certificate of incorporation.

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This choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or any of our directors, officers or employees, which may discourage lawsuits with respect to such claims. We cannot be certain that a court will decide that this provision is either applicable or enforceable, and if a court were to find the choice of forum provision contained in our certificate of incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.

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Our certificate of incorporation provides that the exclusive forum provision is applicable to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law. Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. As a result, we anticipate that the exclusive forum provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act, the Securities Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction and the exclusive forum provision is not intended to waive our compliance with federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder or bar claims properly brought thereunder.

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Risks Related to Our Securities

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Our Common Stock

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Our chairman and chief executive officer effectively controls our company.

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We have two classes of common stock — Class A Common Stock, each share of which entitles the holder thereof to one vote on any matter submitted to our stockholders, and Class B Common Stock, each share of which entitles the holder thereof to ten votes on any matter submitted to our stockholders. Our chairman and chief executive officer, William J. Rouhana, Jr., has control over the vast majority of all the outstanding voting power as represented by our outstanding Class B and Class A Common Stock and effectively controls CSS Holdings and CSS, which controls CSS Productions, and, in turn, our company. Further, our bylaws provide that any member of our board may be removed with or without cause by the majority of our outstanding voting power, thus Mr. Rouhana exerts significant control over our board. This concentration of ownership and decision making may make it more difficult for other stockholders to effect substantial changes in our company and may also have the effect of delaying, preventing or expediting, as the case may be, a change in control of our company.

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Because our common stock currently trades at prices below $5.00 per share, we are subject to “penny stock” rules.

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As a company whose securities are traded at a low price per share, we are subject to additional regulatory requirements under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, commonly referred to as the "penny stock rules." These rules impose certain disclosure and trading restrictions on broker-dealers who engage in transactions in penny stocks, defined generally as equity securities with a price of less than $5.00 per share.

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The penny stock rules require broker-dealers to provide specific disclosures to investors prior to executing transactions in penny stocks. These disclosures include information about the risks associated with investing in penny stocks, the salesperson's compensation, and the bid and offer quotations for the penny stock. Additionally, the rules require broker-dealers to obtain written consent from investors before executing transactions in penny stocks, confirming that the investors have received the required disclosures and understand the risks involved.

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The trading restrictions imposed by the penny stock rules may limit the liquidity and marketability of our securities. As a result, investors may find it more difficult to sell their shares at prevailing market prices or to find a willing buyer for their shares. This limited liquidity may contribute to greater price volatility and wider bid-ask spreads for our securities, which could negatively impact the market price of our common stock.

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Furthermore, the additional regulatory requirements associated with trading as a penny stock may deter broker-dealers from facilitating transactions in our securities. This reduced market-making activity may further exacerbate the liquidity and trading challenges faced by investors in our stock.

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Investors should be aware of the risks associated with trading in penny stocks, including limited liquidity, heightened price volatility, and the potential for regulatory scrutiny. These risks may make it more difficult for investors to buy or sell our securities at favorable prices and could result in losses for investors.

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A substantial number of shares of our Class A Common Stock may be issued upon exercise of outstanding warrants, which could adversely affect the price of our publicly traded securities.

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A substantial number of shares of Class A Common Stock may be issued upon the exercise of outstanding warrants, including the following:

at a price of $12.00 per share;

at an exercise price of $8.13 per share;

at an exercise price of $9.67 per share;

at an exercise price of $11.61 per share;

at an exercise price of $11.61 per share;

an exercise price of $132.18 per share.

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If all of the outstanding warrants are exercised for cash we will be required to issue an aggregate of 5,501,357 shares of Class A Common Stock, or approximately 20% of our Class A Common Stock outstanding as of December 31, 2023. The warrant holders will likely exercise the warrants only at a time when it is economically beneficial to do so. Accordingly, the exercise of these warrants will significantly dilute our other equity holders and may adversely affect the market price of our publicly traded securities.

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We utilize At the Market Issuance Sales Agreements and private sales, pursuant to which we may offer and sell, from time to time, shares of Class A Common Stock and shares of Series A Preferred Stock, which may adversely affect the price of our Class A Common Stock and Series A Preferred Stock .

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We utilize At the Market Issuance Sales Agreement (“ATM Agreements”) and private sales pursuant to which we may issue shares of Class A Common Stock and Series A Preferred Stock having an aggregate offering price of up to $1,000,000,000. The sale of Class A Common Stock will dilute our other equity holders and may adversely affect the market price of the Class A Common Stock. Issuance of shares of our Series A Preferred Stock will increase our dividend payment obligations and increase the liquidation preference. Under our currently existing ATM Agreement with Virtu Americas and B. Riley, for the year ended December 31, 2023, we have sold an aggregate of 1,200,703 shares of Series A Preferred Stock, generating net proceeds to us of $18.8 million. Outside of that, we completed private unregistered sales of 1,200,000 shares of preferred stock, generating $8.1 million.

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Only a limited market exists for our Class A Common Stock, Series A Preferred Stock, Notes and Warrants, which could lead to price volatility.

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Our Class A Common Stock, Series A Preferred Stock, Notes and Redbox Warrants trade on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbols “CSSE”, “CSSEP”, “CSSEN” and “CSSEL”, respectively. Our Class Z warrants are quoted on the OTC Markets under the symbol “CSSEZ,” respectively. However, trading volume for our securities has historically been relatively limited. The limited trading market for our securities may cause fluctuations in the market value of these securities to be exaggerated, leading to price volatility in excess of that which would occur in a more active trading market for our securities. We currently face delisting of our securities on Nasdaq and have a scheduled hearing in May 2024 to

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appeal the delisting notice. The delisting of our securities will materially harm liquidity and likely the value of such securities.

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We currently do not plan to pay any dividends on our Class A Common Stock.

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The payment of cash dividends on our Class A Common Stock in the future will be dependent upon our revenue and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition, our obligation to pay dividends on our Series A Preferred Stock and make quarterly interest payments on the Notes, the laws and regulations of the State of Delaware and will be within the discretion of our board of directors. As a result, any gain you may realize on our Class A Common Stock  may result solely from the appreciation of such shares. If our securities become subject to the SEC’s penny stock rules, broker-dealers may have trouble in completing customer transactions and trading activity in our securities may be adversely affected.

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If at any time our securities become subject to the “penny stock” rules promulgated under the Exchange Act our securities could be adversely affected. Typically, securities trading under a market price of $5.00 per share and that do not meet certain exceptions, such as national market listing or annual revenue criteria, are subject to the penny stock rules. Under these rules, broker-dealers who recommend such securities to persons other than institutional accredited investors must:

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If our securities become subject to these rules, broker-dealers may find it difficult to effectuate customer transactions and trading activity in our securities may be adversely affected. As a result, the market price of our securities may be depressed, and you may find it more difficult to sell our securities. Nasdaq could delist our Class A Common Stock from quotation on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to sell and purchase our shares and subject us to additional trading restrictions.

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Our Class A Common Stock is currently listed on Nasdaq, a national securities exchange. In March 2024 we received notice from Nasdaq that our securities will be delisted, pending our appeal of such delisting decision. If our Class A Common Stock is not listed on Nasdaq or another national securities exchange at any time after the date hereof, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:

shares to adhere to more stringent rules, possibly resulting in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary

trading market for our Class A Common Stock;

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Risks Related to our Series A Preferred Stock

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We may redeem the Series A Preferred Stock.

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On or after June 27, 2023, we may, at our option, redeem the Series A Preferred Stock, in whole or in part, at any time or from time to time. Also, upon the occurrence of a Change of Control prior to June 27, 2023, we may, at our option, redeem the Series A Preferred Stock, in whole or in part, within 120 days after the first date on which such Change of Control occurred. We may have an incentive to redeem the Series A Preferred Stock voluntarily if market conditions allow us to issue other preferred stock or debt securities at a rate that is lower than the dividend rate on the Series A Preferred Stock. If we redeem the Series A Preferred Stock, then from and after the redemption date, dividends will cease to accrue on shares of Series A Preferred Stock, the shares of Series A Preferred Stock shall no longer be deemed outstanding and all rights as a holder of those shares will terminate, except the right to receive the redemption price plus accumulated and unpaid dividends, if any, payable upon redemption.

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We must adhere to prescribed legal requirements and have sufficient cash in order to be able to pay dividends on our Series A Preferred Stock.

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As noted earlier in this Annual Report, we have suspended the declaration and payment of dividends under our Series A preferred stock as a result of lack of surplus. We cannot determine if we will be able to reinstate this dividend at any point in the future. In accordance with Section 170 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, we may only declare and pay cash dividends on the Series A Preferred Stock if we have either net profits during the fiscal year in which the dividend is declared and/or the preceding fiscal year, or a “surplus”, meaning the excess, if any, of our net assets (total assets less total liabilities) over our capital. We can provide no assurance that we will satisfy such requirements in any given year. Further, even if we have the legal ability to declare a dividend, we may not have sufficient cash to pay dividends on the Series A Preferred Stock. Our ability to pay dividends may be impaired if any of the risks described herein actually occur. Also, payment of our dividends depends upon our financial condition and other factors our board of directors may deem relevant from time to time. We cannot assure you that our businesses will generate sufficient cash flow from operations or that future borrowings will be available to us in an amount sufficient to enable us to pay dividends on the Series A Preferred Stock.

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A holder of Series A Preferred Stock has extremely limited voting rights.

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The voting rights for a holder of Series A Preferred Stock are limited. Our shares of Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock vote together as a single class and are the only class of our securities that carry full voting rights. Mr. Rouhana, our chairman of the board and chief executive officer, beneficially owns the vast majority of the voting power of our outstanding common stock. As a result, Mr. Rouhana exercises a significant level of control over all matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election of directors, amendment of our certificate of incorporation, and approval of significant corporate transactions. This control could have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of our company or changes in management and will make the approval of certain transactions difficult or impossible without his support, which in turn could reduce the price of our Series A Preferred Stock.

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Voting rights for holders of the Series A Preferred Stock exist primarily with respect to the ability to elect, voting together with the holders of any other series of our preferred stock having similar voting rights, two additional directors to our board of directors in the event that eighteen monthly dividends (whether or not consecutive) payable on the Series A Preferred Stock are in arrears, and with respect to voting on amendments to our certificate of incorporation, including the certificate of designations relating to the Series A Preferred Stock, that materially and adversely affect the rights of the holders of Series A Preferred Stock or authorize, increase or create additional classes or series of our capital stock that are senior to the Series A Preferred Stock.

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The market price of the Series A Preferred Stock could be substantially affected by various factors.

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The market price of the Series A Preferred Stock depends on many factors, some of which are beyond our control and may not be directly related to our operating performance. These factors include, but are not limited to, the following:

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The Series A Preferred Stock ranks junior to all our indebtedness and other liabilities.

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In the event of our bankruptcy, liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of our affairs, our assets will be available to pay obligations on the Series A Preferred Stock only after all our indebtedness and other liabilities have been paid. The rights of holders of the Series A Preferred Stock to participate in the distribution of our assets will rank junior to the prior claims of our current and future creditors and any future series or class of preferred stock we may issue that ranks senior to the Series A Preferred Stock. Also, the Series A Preferred Stock effectively ranks junior to all existing and future indebtedness and to the indebtedness and other liabilities of our existing subsidiaries and any future subsidiaries. Our existing subsidiaries are, and future subsidiaries would be, separate legal entities and have no legal obligation to pay any amounts to us in respect of dividends due on the Series A Preferred Stock.

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We have incurred and may in the future incur substantial amounts of debt and other obligations that will rank senior to the Series A Preferred Stock. As of December 31, 2023, our total liabilities (excluding contingent consideration) equaled approximately $920.6 million. If we are forced to liquidate our assets to pay our creditors, we may not have sufficient assets to pay amounts due on any or all the Series A Preferred Stock then outstanding.

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Market interest rates may materially and adversely affect the value of the Series A Preferred Stock.

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One of the factors that will influence the price of the Series A Preferred Stock is the dividend yield on the Series A Preferred Stock (as a percentage of the market price of the Series A Preferred Stock) relative to market interest rates. Increases in market interest rates may lead prospective purchasers of the Series A Preferred Stock to expect a higher dividend yield (and higher interest rates would likely increase our borrowing costs and potentially decrease funds available for dividend payments). Thus, higher market interest rates could cause the market price of the Series A Preferred Stock to materially decrease.

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Holders of the Series A Preferred Stock may be unable to use the dividends-received deduction and may not be eligible for the preferential tax rates applicable to “qualified dividend income.”

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If and when we reinstitute the dividend on our Series A preferred stock, distributions paid to corporate U.S. holders of the Series A Preferred Stock may be eligible for the dividends-received deduction, and distributions paid to non-corporate U.S. holders of the Series A Preferred Stock may be subject to tax at the preferential tax rates applicable to “qualified dividend income,” only if we have current or accumulated earnings and profits, as determined for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Additionally, we may not have sufficient current earnings and profits during future fiscal years for the distributions on the Series A Preferred Stock to qualify as dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes. If the distributions fail to qualify as dividends, U.S. holders would be unable to use the dividends-received deduction and may

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not be eligible for the preferential tax rates applicable to “qualified dividend income.” If any distributions on the Series A Preferred Stock with respect to any fiscal year are not eligible for the dividends-received deduction or preferential tax rates applicable to “qualified dividend income” because of insufficient current or accumulated earnings and profits, it is possible that the market value of the Series A Preferred Stock might decline.

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A reduction in the credit rating of our Series A Preferred Stock could adversely affect the pricing and liquidity of such stock.

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Any downward revision or withdrawal of the credit rating on our Series A Preferred Stock could materially adversely affect market confidence in such stock and could cause material decreases in the market price of such stock and could diminish market liquidity.

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The Series A Preferred Stock is not convertible into Class A Common Stock, including in the event of a change of control, and investors will not realize a corresponding upside if the price of the Class A Common Stock increases.

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The Series A Preferred Stock is not convertible into shares of Class A Common Stock and earns dividends at a fixed rate. Accordingly, an increase in market price of our Class A Common Stock will not necessarily result in an increase in the market price of our Series A Preferred Stock. The market value of the Series A Preferred Stock may depend more on dividend and interest rates for other preferred stock, commercial paper and other investment alternatives and our actual and perceived ability to pay dividends on, and in the event of dissolution satisfy the liquidation preference with respect to, the Series A Preferred Stock.

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The Notes are unsecured and therefore are effectively subordinated to any secured indebtedness we have incurred or may incur in the future.

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The Notes are not secured by any of our assets. As a result, the Notes are effectively subordinated to all of our existing and future secured indebtedness, such as any new loan facility or other indebtedness to which we grant a security interest, including our film acquisition advances and MUFG Union Bank which are secured by territorial licenses and distribution rights in certain films and productions owned or to be acquired by Screen Media or Redbox, but only to the extent of the value of the assets securing such indebtedness. In any liquidation, dissolution, bankruptcy or other similar proceeding, the holders of any of our existing or future secured indebtedness may assert rights against the assets pledged to secure that indebtedness in order to receive full payment of their indebtedness before the assets may be used to pay other creditors, including the holders of the Notes.

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The Notes are structurally subordinated to the existing and future indebtedness and other liabilities of our subsidiaries.

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The Notes are obligations exclusively of Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, Inc., and not any of our subsidiaries. In addition, the Notes are not guaranteed by any third-party, whether an affiliate or unrelated to us. None of the assets of our subsidiaries will be directly available to satisfy the claims of holders of the Notes. Except to the extent we are a creditor with recognized claims against our subsidiaries, all claims of creditors of our subsidiaries will have priority over our equity interests in such entities (and therefore the claims of our creditors, including holders of the Notes) with respect to the assets of such entities. Even if we are recognized as a creditor of one or more of these entities, our claims would still be effectively subordinated to any security interests in the assets of any such entity and to any indebtedness or other liabilities of any such entity senior to our claims. Consequently, the Notes are structurally subordinated to all indebtedness and other liabilities of any of our subsidiaries.

​

The indenture under which the Notes are issued contains limited protection for holders of the Notes.

​

The indenture under which the Notes are issued offers limited protection to holders of the Notes. The terms of the indenture and the Notes do not restrict our ability to engage in, or otherwise be a party to, a variety of corporate transactions, circumstances or events that could have a material adverse impact on your investment in the Notes. In particular, except in limited circumstances, the terms of the indenture and the Notes do not restrict our ability to:

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other obligations that would be equal or senior in right of payment to the Notes, (2) any indebtedness or other

obligations that would be secured and therefore rank effectively senior in right of payment to the Notes to the

extent of the values of the assets securing such debt, (3) indebtedness that we incur that is guaranteed by one or

more of our subsidiaries and which therefore is structurally senior to the Notes and (4) securities, indebtedness

or obligations issued or incurred by our subsidiaries that would be senior to our equity interests in those entities

and therefore rank structurally senior to the Notes with respect to the assets of these entities;

​

ranking junior in right of payment to the Notes, including our Series A Preferred Stock or any subordinated

indebtedness;

all of our assets);

​

In addition, the indenture does not require us to offer to purchase the Notes in connection with a change of control or any other event (but does afford us the right to redeem the Notes prior to the prescribed redemption date upon the consummation of certain transactions). Similarly, the terms of the indenture and the Notes do not protect holders of the Notes in the event that we experience changes (including significant adverse changes) in our financial condition, results of operations or credit ratings, if any.

​

Our ability to recapitalize, incur additional debt and take a number of other actions that are not limited by the terms of the Notes may have important consequences for holders of the Notes, including making it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations with respect to the Notes or negatively affecting the trading value of the Notes.

​

Other debt we issue or incur in the future could contain more protections for its holders than the indenture and the Notes, including additional covenants and events of default. For example, the indenture under which the Notes are issued does not contain cross-default provisions. The issuance or incurrence of any indebtedness with incremental protections could affect the market for and trading levels and prices of the Notes. Additionally, even if we issue indebtedness that ranks  equally with the Notes, the holders of such indebtedness will be entitled to share ratably with the noteholders in any proceeds distributed in connection with any insolvency, liquidation, reorganization, or dissolution, which may have the effect of reducing the amount of proceeds paid to our noteholders. Incurrence of additional debt would also further reduce the cash available to invest in operations, as a result of increased debt service obligations, and may cause a cross-default on our other obligations, as described elsewhere in these Risk Factors. If new debt is added to our current indebtedness, the related risks that we now face could be compounded.

​

An increase in market interest rates could result in a decrease in the value of the Notes.

​

In general, as market interest rates rise, notes bearing interest at a fixed rate decline in value. Consequently, if you purchase the Notes, and the market interest rates subsequently increase, the market value of your Notes may decline. We cannot predict the future level of market interest rates.

​

An active trading market for the Notes may not be sustained, which could limit your ability to sell the Notes or the market price of the Notes.

​

Although the Notes are listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under the trading symbol “CSSEN,” we received a delisting notice for our securities from Nasdaq in March 2024, pending our appeal of same. We cannot provide any assurances that the Notes will remain listed on Nasdaq or that an active trading market will develop or be maintained for the Notes or that you will be able to sell your Notes. The Notes may trade at a discount from their initial offering price depending on

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prevailing interest rates, the market for similar securities, our credit ratings, if any, general economic conditions, our financial condition, performance and prospects and other factors. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that a liquid trading market for the Notes will be sustained, that you will be able to sell your Notes at a particular time or that the price you receive when you sell will be favorable. To the extent an active trading market is not sustained, the liquidity and trading price for the Notes may be harmed. Accordingly, you may be required to bear the financial risk of an investment in the Notes for an indefinite period of time.

​

We may choose to redeem the Notes when prevailing interest rates are relatively low.

​

Since July 31, 2022, we have had the right to redeem the Notes from time to time, which we may elect to do especially when prevailing interest rates are lower than the rate borne by the Notes. If prevailing rates are lower at the time of redemption, you would not be able to reinvest the redemption proceeds in a comparable security at an effective interest rate as high as the interest rate on the Notes being redeemed. Our redemption right also may adversely impact your ability to sell the Notes as the optional redemption date or period approaches.

​

If we default on our obligations to pay our other indebtedness, we may not be able to make payments on the Notes.

​

Any default under the agreements governing our existing or future indebtedness that is not waived by the required lenders, and the remedies sought by the holders of such indebtedness, could make us unable to pay principal and interest on the Notes and substantially decrease the market value of the Notes. If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flow and are otherwise unable to obtain funds necessary to meet required payments of principal and interest on our indebtedness, or if we otherwise fail to comply with the various covenants, including financial and operating covenants, in the instruments governing our indebtedness, we could be in default under the terms of the agreements governing such indebtedness, including the Notes. In the event of such default, the holders of such indebtedness could elect to declare all the funds borrowed thereunder to be due and payable, together with accrued and unpaid interest. In addition, the lenders under any loan facility or other financing that we may obtain in the future could elect to terminate their commitment, cease making further loans and institute foreclosure proceedings against our assets, and we could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation. Any such default may constitute a default under the Notes, which could further limit our ability to repay our indebtedness, including the Notes. If our operating performance declines, we may in the future need to seek to obtain waivers from our existing lenders at the time to avoid being in default. If we breach any loan covenants, we may not be able to obtain such a waiver from the lenders. If this occurs, we would be in default under the credit arrangement that we have, the lender could exercise its rights as described above, and we could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation. If we are unable to repay indebtedness, lenders having secured obligations could proceed against the collateral securing their debt. Because any future credit facilities will likely have customary cross-default provisions, if the indebtedness under the Notes, or under any future credit facility is accelerated, we may be unable to repay or finance the amounts due.

​

We are not obligated to contribute to a sinking fund to retire the Notes and the Notes are not guaranteed by a third-party.

​

We are not obligated to contribute funds to a sinking fund to repay principal or interest on the Notes upon maturity or default. The Notes are not certificates of deposit or similar obligations of, or guaranteed by, any depositary institution. 

Further, no private party or governmental entity insures or guarantees payment on the Notes if we do not have enough funds to make principal or interest payments.

​

A downgrade, suspension or withdrawal of the credit rating assigned by a rating agency to us, the July 2025 Notes, or the Notes, if any, could cause the liquidity or market value of the Notes to decline significantly.

​

Our credit rating is an assessment by third parties of our ability to pay our obligations. Consequently, real or anticipated changes in our credit rating will generally affect the market value of the Notes. Our credit rating, however, may not reflect the potential impact of risks related to market conditions generally or other factors discussed above on the market value of or trading market for the Notes. Credit ratings are not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security, and may be revised or withdrawn at any time by the issuing organization in its sole discretion.

​

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Risks Related to our Warrants

​

Our Redbox Warrants are listed on Nasdaq under the symbol “CSSEL” and our Class Z Warrants are quoted on the OTC Pink Market but a market may not develop for these warrants.

​

Our Redbox Warrants are listed on Nasdaq under the symbol “CSSEL” and our Class Z Warrants are quoted on the OTC Pink Market under the symbol “CSSEZ”, respectively. We cannot assure you that active trading markets for these warrants will develop, or, if developed, will be sustained. With respect to the Class Z Warrants, the over-the-counter market is a significantly more limited market than Nasdaq, due to factors such as the reduced number of investors that will consider investing in securities traded over the counter, the reduced number of market makers in the securities, and the reduced number of securities analysts that follow such securities. As a result of the foregoing, holders of our warrants may find it difficult to resell their warrants at prices quoted in the market or at all. You may be unable to sell Class Z Warrants unless a market for such securities can be established or sustained.

​

Holders of our warrants will have no rights as a common stockholder until such warrants are exercised.

​

Until holders of our warrants acquire shares of our Class A Common Stock they will have no rights with respect to the shares of Class A Common Stock underlying such warrants.

​

The market price of our Class A Common Stock may fall below the exercise price of our warrants.

​

The market price of our Class A Common Stock may fall below the exercise prices of our warrants and remain below such exercise prices through the date of expiration of our warrants. Any warrants not exercised by their date of expiration will expire worthless and we will be under no further obligation to the warrant holder.

​

ITEM 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

​

Not applicable.

​

ITEM 1C. Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity risk management is an important part of our overall risk management efforts. We maintain a cybersecurity program that is comprised of policies, procedures, controls and plans whose objective is to help us prevent and effectively respond to cybersecurity threats or incidents. Through our cybersecurity risk management process, we monitor cybersecurity vulnerabilities and potential attack vectors to company systems. We, directly and through our third-party service providers, maintain various measures to safeguard against cybersecurity threats such as monitoring systems, security controls, policy enforcement, data encryption, employee training, tools and services from third-party providers and management oversight to assess, identify and mitigate risks from cybersecurity threats. We and our third-party service providers conduct regular testing of these controls and systems including vulnerability scanning, penetration testing and simulating the execution of parts of our disaster recovery plan.

We have implemented cybersecurity frameworks, policies and practices which incorporate industry standards and contractual requirements. We gather information and review security protocols of certain third parties who integrate with our systems, such as our payroll processor, managed solutions provider, and software as a service provider, on an annual basis to identify and manage risk. We regularly seek to improve and mature our cybersecurity processes. We apply lessons learned from our efforts to help prevent attacks and utilize data analytics to detect anomalies and search for cyber threats.

Cybersecurity threats of all types, such as attacks from computer hackers, cyber criminals, nation-state actors, social engineering and other malicious internet-based activities, continue to increase generally in business and society. We believe that our current preventative actions and response planning provide adequate measures of protection against cybersecurity risks. While we have implemented measures to safeguard our information technology systems, the evolving nature of cybersecurity attacks and vulnerabilities means that these protections may not always be effective. In 2023, we did not identify any cybersecurity threats that have materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect our business strategy, results of operations, or financial condition. However, despite our efforts, we cannot eliminate all risks from cybersecurity threats, or provide assurances that we have not experienced undetected cybersecurity incidents.

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Governance

Our board of directors has oversight of our strategic and business risk management and oversees management’s execution of our cybersecurity risk management program. The board receives updates from management on our cybersecurity risks as may be required or prudent. In addition, management updates the board as necessary, regarding any material cybersecurity incidents. Management is responsible for identifying, assessing, and managing cybersecurity risks on an ongoing basis, establishing processes to ensure that such potential cybersecurity risk exposures are monitored, putting in place appropriate mitigation measures, maintaining cybersecurity policies and procedures, and providing regular reports to our board of directors. In the event of an incident, we intend to follow our incident response plan, which outlines the steps to be followed from incident detection to mitigation, recovery and notification, including notifying functional areas (e.g. legal), as well as senior leadership and the board, as appropriate.

Our Director, Information Security works with our Chief Technology Officer to oversee our cybersecurity program and is responsible for our overall information security strategy, policy, security engineering, operations and cyber threat detection and response. These personnel work with other members of management, employees and outside service providers to promote and evolve our cybersecurity protocols and systems.

There were no material cybersecurity incidents in 2023 or up to the date of this filing.

​

ITEM 2. Properties

​

Our corporate headquarters is located at 132 East Putnam Avenue – Floor 2W, Cos Cob, Connecticut. Use of this space is provided to us under the terms of the CSS Management Agreement. We also lease facilities in California, New York and  Illinois.

ITEM 3. Legal Proceedings

During fiscal 2023, the Company is currently subject to numerous litigations and other potential litigations and claims due to unpaid vendor payments because of the capital shortfalls. We are a defendant in numerous commercial actions claiming breach of contract and other causes, including breach of contract relating to the content relationships, company leases, and advertising relationships.

​

BBC v. Screen Media and CSSE, New York Court- In this action, Plaintiff filed an arbitration for unpaid dues and claimed approximately $9 million including accruing interest and attorney fees. This matter is currently on-going and balance due and accrued under this agreement as of December 31, 2023, was approximately $7.4 million. CSSE has filed a counter claim against BBC that substantially offsets the alleged claim for breach of contract.

​

SPHE Scan Based Trading v. CSSE, Redbox and Crackle Plus, California Court - In this action, Plaintiff filed suit for unpaid dues and claimed up to $30 million including accruing interest and attorney fees. This matter is currently on-going and balance due and accrued under this agreement as of December 31,2023 was approximately $23.8 million, the low end of the range of our estimate of loss.

​

Universal City Studios v. Redbox, Superior Court of Los Angeles County, California - In this action, Plaintiff filed suit for unpaid dues and claimed up to $16.8 million including accruing interest and attorney fees. This matter is currently on-going and balance due and adequately accrued under this agreement as of December 31,2023.

​

Other than the items discussed above, we believe that the other matters that the Company is currently subject to litigation are not significant, and, in the opinion of our management, are not likely to have a material adverse effect on the Company in adjudicated or settled in a manner adverse to our company. Legal proceedings (both existing proceedings and any additional proceedings arising from such defaults) are subject to inherent uncertainties, and an unfavorable outcome could include monetary damages, loss of office access, loss of equipment use, and other adverse consequences, and excessive verdicts can result from litigation, and as such, could result in further material adverse impacts on our business, financial position, results of operations, and /or cash flows.

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ITEM 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

​

Not applicable.

​

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PART II

ITEM 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

​

Market Information

Our Class A common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Market (“Nasdaq”) under the symbol “CSSE,” our Series A Preferred Stock is listed on Nasdaq under the symbol “CSSEP,” and our 9.50% Notes due 2025 are listed on Nasdaq under the symbol “CSSEN.” Our Redbox Warrants are listed on Nasdaq under the symbol “CSSEL.” Our Class Z Warrants are quoted on the OTC Pink Market under the symbols “CSSEZ.”

Nasdaq Listing Requirements

On March 25, 2024, the Company received a staff determination from The Nasdaq Stock Market (“Nasdaq”) to delist the Company’s securities from the Nasdaq Capital Market (the “Staff Determination”). As disclosed previously, the Company received three separate notices from Nasdaq advising the Company that it is not in compliance with certain Nasdaq listing requirements. The notices include the failure of our Class A common stock to trade at or above the Nasdaq required minimum $1 threshold for 30 consecutive days, maintain a public float above $5 million on its Class A common stock (CSSE) and maintain equity of $10 million. The Company appealed the Staff Determination on April 1, 2024 and expects the hearing to occur within 45 days after the date of its hearing request. The hearing request will stay the delisting of the Company’s securities pending the appeal and the Company’s securities will continue to be listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market until a decision is made. In the meantime, the Company is considering various strategic options to remedy its noncompliance with Nasdaq Listing Rules described above. If the Company is not be able to cure and meet the listing requirements with Nasdaq its Class A common stock (CSSE), 9.75% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Perpetual Stock (CSSEP), Common Stock Purchase Warrant (CSSEL) and 9.50% Notes due 2025 (CSSEN) may cease to be publicly traded on the Nasdaq Global Market. In such event the Company intends to list such securities on another Nasdaq market, although there can be no assurance the Company will meet the criteria of any other market or will be able to secure listing thereon.

Holders

As of April 12, 2024, we have 1,009 holders of record of our Class A Common Stock and 1 holder of record of our Class B Common Stock. We believe we have in excess of 300 beneficial holders of our Class A Common Stock.

​

Dividend Policy

Series A Preferred Stock Dividends

Since July 2018, we have declared monthly cash dividends of $0.2031 per share on our Series A Preferred Stock to holders of record as of each month end. The monthly dividends for each month were paid on approximately the 15th day subsequent to each respective month end. The total amount of dividends declared were $14.0 million and $9.7 million as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

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On January 5, 2024, the Company’s Board of Directors determined to temporarily suspend the payment of monthly cash dividends on the Company’s Series A Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Stock (“Series A Preferred Stock”) beginning with the payment scheduled for on or around January 15, 2024. The suspension of these dividends will defer approximately $1.2 million in cash dividend payments each month.

Pursuant to Section 4 of the Certificate of Designations of the Series A Preferred Stock, dividends on the Series A Preferred Stock will continue to accumulate whether or not the Company has earnings, there are funds legally available for the payment of those dividends, or those dividends are declared by the Board of Directors. No interest, or sum in lieu of interest, will be payable in respect of any dividend payment or payments on the Series A Preferred Stock which may be in arrears, and holders of the Series A Preferred Stock will not be entitled to any dividends in excess of the full cumulative dividends. Any dividend payment made on the Series A Preferred Stock shall first be credited against the earliest accumulated but unpaid dividend due with respect to the Series A Preferred Stock.

Common Stock Dividends

Our credit agreement with HPS includes a limitation on our ability to pay dividends to common stockholders. We have not paid any dividends on our common stock during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.

​

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company issued 2,025,927 shares of Class A common stock to CSS in lieu of contractual management fee payment based on a fixed price of $3.05 per share. The agreement allows for up to $12.75 million to be paid with shares at a fixed price of $3.05 per share.

During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company issued 358,985 shares of Class A common stock to third parties in lieu of payment based on an average price of $0.91 per share.

During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company issued 1,200,000 shares of Series A preferred stock on an average price of $6.73 per share or $8.1 million.

​

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

None.

Code of Ethics

We have adopted a code of ethics which applies to all our directors, officers, and employees, including our chief executive officer, chief financial officer, and principal accounting officer. The code of ethics is designed to deter wrongdoing and promote honest and ethical conduct, full, fair, accurate, timely, and understandable disclosure in reports that we file or furnish to the SEC and in our other public communications, compliance with applicable government laws, rules, and regulations, and prompt internal reporting of violations of the code. A copy of the code of ethics may be found on our website at ir.cssentertainment.com.

ITEM 6. Selected Financial Data

​

Not applicable.

​

ITEM 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following discussion and analysis of our consolidated financial condition and results of operations should be read together with our consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report. Some of the information contained in this discussion and analysis or set forth elsewhere in this Annual Report, including information with respect to our plans and strategy for our business and related financing, includes forward-looking statements involving risks and uncertainties and should be read together with the "Risk Factors" section of this Annual

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Report. Such risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from the results described in or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in the following discussion and analysis.

Recent Developments

There is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern and this could materially impact our ability to obtain capital financing and the value of our common and preferred stock.

​

The accompanying consolidated financial statements and notes have been prepared assuming the Company will continue as a going concern. During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company generated negative cash flows from operations of $(23.3) million, a net loss available to common stockholders of $(636.6) million and has an accumulated deficit of $(884.3) million. Our consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments related to the recoverability and classification of recorded asset amounts or the amounts and classification of liabilities that might be necessary should we be unable to continue as a going concern.

​

CSSE’s merger with Redbox occurred in August 2022. The merger included the assumption of $359.9 million of debt. The ability to service this debt and operate our combined business operations was predicated on a partial return to pre-COVID levels in the number and cadence of theatrical releases that were available to the Company for its kiosk network, cost synergies between the companies, and the ability to consummate certain accounts receivable financing. The corresponding rebound in demand for physical kiosk rentals was expected to return to approximately a third of 2019 levels, along with expected synergies from the acquisition, and accounts receivable financing, which would generate sufficient cash flows to cover the cash needs of the combined businesses.

​

Several factors negatively affected the planned integration of Redbox’s operations into our company, including a) longer than anticipated period of unavailability of sufficient new titles as a result of the on-going impacts of COVID and industries strikes, b) undisclosed preacquisition issues within Redbox, and c) disputes that arose with our lender as described in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023.

​

As the flow of theatrical releases began to increase following Covid, we believe that our inability to secure accounts receivable financing for the reasons describe in our most recent 10-Q hampered our ability to pay for and secure new content, which began to strain relationships with the Company’s creditors, including content providers. As a result, the Company was unable to pay for all the movies that were offered to it by its providers, and as a result operating results failed to meet management’s expectations, particularly in Redbox’s kiosk rentals, resulting in insufficient cash flows and a significant working capital deficit hampering our ability to operate the business efficiently.

​

In order to partially replace this working capital shortfall, the Company factored its short-dated receivables but was unable to factor its long-term receivables, which prevented us from making up the short-fall. Also, the Company launched initiatives to improve its efficiency and reduce its cost structure, including, but not limited to: (i) optimizing its kiosk network, (ii) evaluating and implementing workforce reductions across its supply chain and corporate teams and (iii) maximizing cost synergies across the combined businesses.

​

The combination of these factors has resulted in asserted defaults and/or contractual terminations with critical content and service providers, impacting our ability to procure and monetize content efficiently across our distribution platforms. Due to the ongoing impact of the above factors on our current and future results of operations, cash flows and financial condition, there is substantial doubt as to the ability of the Company to continue as a going concern. As a result of the Company’s diminished capital position, the Company has received an increasing number of termination and/or non-renewal notices from content suppliers and other service providers, including receiving default notices under certain of its leases and certain of its lenders. These financing partners have the ability to evict us from facilities, repossess vehicles or call their debt, but none have done so to date.

​

While we believe that, if we are able to consummate the series of strategic financing transactions that we believe are available to us in the near term, we will be able to settle material litigations, defend those for which we have a defense, and promptly reinstitute key relationships, including with our key content producers and suppliers, we ultimately may not be able to consummate all such financing transactions or settle or defend all such cases in a manner that avoids continued operational and economic consequences that harm our business and financial performance. If we are unable to consummate

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these strategic financing transactions in the near term, we likely will be required to seek relief and protections under United States federal bankruptcy laws.

​

On March 25, 2024, the Company received a staff determination from The Nasdaq Stock Market (“Nasdaq”) to delist the Company’s securities from the Nasdaq Capital Market (the “Staff Determination”). As disclosed previously, the Company received three separate notices from Nasdaq advising the Company that it is not in compliance with certain Nasdaq listing requirements. The notices include the failure of our Class A common stock to trade at or above the Nasdaq required minimum $1 threshold for 30 consecutive days, maintain a public float above $5 million on its Class A common stock (CSSE) and maintain equity of $10 million. The Company appealed the Staff Determination on April 1, 2024 and expects the hearing to occur within 45 days after the date of its hearing request. The hearing request will stay the delisting of the Company’s securities pending the appeal and the Company’s securities will continue to be listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market until a decision is made. In the meantime, the Company is considering various strategic options to remedy its noncompliance with Nasdaq Listing Rules described above. If the Company is not be able to cure and meet the listing requirements with Nasdaq its Class A common stock (CSSE), 9.75% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Perpetual Stock (CSSEP), Common Stock Purchase Warrant (CSSEL) and 9.50% Notes due 2025 (CSSEN) may cease to be publicly traded on the Nasdaq Global Market. In such event, the Company intends to list such securities on another Nasdaq market, although there can be no assurance the Company will meet the criteria of any other market or will be able to secure listing thereon.

​

As described in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we are cautiously optimistic that (1) we will enter into a mutual forbearance agreement with respect to the mutual claims between our Company and our lender, (2) that these mutual claims will be resolved satisfactorily and (3) such resolution, if resolved, may improve our Company’s capital position, including through a possible reduction in our indebtedness. See “Proposed Mutual Forbearance Agreement and Strategic Initiatives” for a summary of the proposed mutual forbearance framework that follows.

​

Proposed Mutual Forbearance Agreement & Strategic Initiatives

In April 2024, as an integral part of our strategic initiatives to improve the capital position of our Company and resolve our mutual disputes with our principal lender, we established a framework with such lender, pursuant to which we would waive certain claims and the lenders under our credit facility would forbear (the “Forbearance”) for a period of time (the “Mutual Forbearance Period”) from exercising any remedies they may have under such credit facility in order to allow our company approximately 60 days to pursue certain proposed transactions (“Proposed Transactions”). The Proposed Transactions include (a) a $50 million sublicense (the “Proposed Sublicense”) and (b) a $125 million agreement with a third party comprised of a $65 million line of credit and a $60 million equipment lease to Redbox secured by assets owned by Redbox (the “Proposed Redbox Facility”). We would be required to apply a portion of the aggregate net proceeds of the Proposed Transactions to the prepayment of a portion of the outstanding loans under our credit facility on a pro rata basis (the “Initial Prepayment”).

​

In the event the Proposed Transactions are consummated and the Initial Prepayment is made prior to the expiration of the Mutual Forbearance Period, the Mutual Forbearance Period would be extended until September 30, 2024 (the “Extended Mutual Forbearance Period”) during which time we would be required to prepay an additional amount under the credit facility. If these additional payments are made during the Extended Mutual Forbearance Period and the lenders have collectively received the specified amount in combined cash and permitted asset value (the “Payment Threshold”), all remaining amounts due and owing under the credit facility shall be deemed satisfied and paid in full, constituting a reduction that represented the majority of aggregate stated principal and interest.

​

The proposed agreement is subject to certain condition precedents, which management expects to meet in the near term. Under the proposed agreement, should the Company fail to make the payments timely or default under the existing credit agreement, the Mutual Forbearance Period will terminate and HPS will be able to pursue certain remedies to be outlined in the agreement, and to exercise their existing rights under the credit facility. Similarly, the Company would in that circumstance be free to pursue its claims against the principal lender, as well as any other legal courses of action it might deem necessary or appropriate in such circumstance.

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Items Impacting Comparability

Merger with Redbox Entertainment Inc.

The merger with Redbox Entertainment Inc. was consummated on August 11, 2022 in accordance with the terms described in the July 2022 S-4. Immediately prior to the merger closing, CSSE entered a definitive financing arrangement with HPS Investment Partners, LLC (“HPS”), that amended Redbox’s existing credit facility, which had $357.5 million of debt outstanding, and includes an $80.0 million revolving credit facility. Additionally, the Company issued a warrant to HPS to acquire 4.5% of CSSE on a fully diluted post-merger basis. On closing of the merger, based on the exchange rate of 0.087 for each outstanding Redbox Class A common share, each vested and unvested restricted stock unit and the common units of Redbox’s Redwood Intermediate LLC subsidiary, the Company issued approximately 4.7 million shares of Class A common stock and assumed the outstanding warrants of Redbox.

Acquisition of 1091 Pictures

On March 4, 2022, the Company acquired the assets of 1091 Media, LLC (“1091 Media”) for approximate consideration of $13.3 million. The purchase price is comprised of $8.0 million in cash, equity in the form of 80,000 newly issued shares of the Company’s Series A perpetual preferred stock, and 375,000 shares of Class A common stock. 1091 Picture’s provides a diverse library of approximately 4,000 movies and television series and established FAST and AVOD channels in specific verticals, with approximately 1 billion yearly ad impressions.

Reporting Segment

We operate in one reportable segment, the production, distribution and exhibition of TV and film content for sale to others and for use on our owned and operated video-on-demand platforms and Redbox Kiosks. We currently operate in the United States and India  and derive most of our revenue primarily in the United States. We distribute films in over 56 countries and territories worldwide and intend to continue to license our video content internationally.

Seasonality

Our operating results are not materially affected by seasonal factors; however, we may distribute rights to certain films which result in increased revenues and expenses during the period of distribution and revenues from our AVOD networks vary from period to period and will generally be higher in the second half of each year. Redbox has greater demand over the holiday season typically results in higher rentals November through January, with April being a lower rental month due, in part, to retail release timing in connection with the Academy Awards that historically has provided stronger content and resulted in higher rentals in March, and September and October having low rental months due, in part, to the beginning of the school year and the introduction of the new fall television season.

Financial Results of Operations:

Revenue

The following table presents net revenue line items for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 and the year-over-year dollar and percentage changes for those line items:

​

Our net revenue increased by $41.6 million or 16% for the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to 2022. This change is driven by an increase in Retail revenue of $45.0 million related to the Redbox acquisition, and an increase of $37.0 million in licensing revenues compared to 2022, offset by a decrease in VOD and streaming revenue of $40.5 million.

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The VOD and streaming decrease is driven by a decrease in non-acquisition-related advertising revenue of $16.6 million and lower TVOD and licensing revenues to digital streamers of $46.0 million, that were partially offset by $10.1 million advertising and $12.0 million TVOD revenue attributable to acquisitions of Redbox and 1091 in 2022.

Retail revenue for the year-ended December 31, 2023, is entirely from the Redbox merger that closed on August 11, 2022. The increase in the revenues is due to the comparison of full year in 2023 to a little less than five full months in 2022. The results for fiscal 2023 resulted in lower revenues than management expected. We expect to experience a lower level of kiosk rentals into the future until such a time that we can stock titles of consequence on a consistent basis. Growth in kiosk rental revenues in the future is dependent on an increase in the number of theatrical releases and an increase in box office content, but also by the consistent weekly cadence of theatrical releases and the size of our kiosk rental network. The future size of our kiosk rental network is dependent on the growth of new retail partners, our retention of existing retail partners and our on-going efforts to rationalize our kiosk footprint to maximize efficiency.

Licensing and other revenue increased $37.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase is related to higher net film licensing revenues of $24.0 million, principally related to an international AVOD licensing agreement across Screen Media’s film library and $20.0 million in other revenues principally related to an amendment of an existing intellectual property license, partially offset by lower production revenues of $7.0 million principally related to Season 1 of Raina Naidu in 2022.

Costs & Expenses

The following table presents cost of revenue line items for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 and the year-over-year dollar and percentage changes for those line items:

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Our cost of revenue increased by $89.7 million or 42% for the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to 2022.

The increase in content amortization and participation costs of $49.3 million in higher amortization and participation costs, consistent with additional revenues from Redbox and 1091 acquisitions, inclusive of increased digital streaming on Redbox’s VOD platforms and an increased international licensing deal across Screen Media library properties. The change includes a $46.4 million increase in content amortization and participation, in 2023 compared to 2022, including increased content impairment charges primarily related to, a modification to a distribution agreement in the fourth quarter and lower performance on an international rights contract.

Revenue share and partner fees decreased $7.4 million due primarily to a $5.5 million decrease in ad representation sales and $1.7 million in third-party revenue and partner share costs.

Distribution and platform costs increased $47.8 million, principally related to the merger with Redbox.

Acquisitions account for $156.7 million of total Operating costs, including Redbox’s direct product costs of $59.7 million and direct operating expenses of $94.3 million.

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Selling, General and Administrative Expenses

The following table presents selling, general and administrative expense line items for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 and the year-over-year dollar and percentage changes for those line items:

Compensation expense increased by $7.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to 2022. This increase is primarily due to compensation expenses related to the acquisitions of Redbox and 1091 Media in 2022 for the full year, partially offset by lower bonus expenses in 2023 and to reductions in administrative headcount.

Share-based compensation expense decreased $3.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to 2022 due to no new grants in 2023 and lapping grants related to the Redbox acquisition.

Professional fees increased by $3.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to 2022. This increase is primarily related to an increase in consulting, advisory and legal fees, of which $2.0 million was due to the acquisition of Redbox.

Other operating expenses increased $7.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to 2022 primarily related to $5.6 million in bad debt expense due to a customer bankruptcy and remaining in additional in overhead costs from Redbox.

Amortization and Depreciation

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Amortization and depreciation expense increased by $17.1 million or 82% principally due to the increase in acquired intangibles from our acquisitions during 2023 and 2022, principally attributable to Redbox.

Impairment of Goodwill & Intangibles