NTN Buzztime creates a Chief Operating Officer position

Hey, I took a while to post this, but NTN Buzztime took years to create the position. (My previous post on Keymer can be found here.)

CARLSBAD, Calif., July 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- NTN Buzztime, Inc. (NYSE Amex: NTN) today announced that Kenneth L. Keymer, a member of the Company's Board of Directors, has been named to the Company's newly created role of Chief Operating Officer, effective July 27. Concurrent with the appointment, he will resign his position with the Board.

As COO, Mr. Keymer will be responsible for all operations related to selling to and servicing bars and restaurants. He will manage site sales, account management and all installation and service operations. He will report directly to Terry Bateman, the Company's Chief Executive Officer.

"Ken has made an immediate impact on our Board, and I have gained a lot of respect for him and his operational skills during these last several months," Mr. Bateman said. "His deep background in restaurant operations and dedication to superior service will serve us well in this newly created role, as he will work to ensure NTN achieves industry-leading operational and customer service excellence in support of our business strategy."

"I look forward to this opportunity to lead an effort to enhance NTN's operational effectiveness," Mr. Keymer said. "I am excited about our strategic direction and positioning as a leader in interactive entertainment. As COO, I will be able to contribute directly to the execution of that strategy."

Mr. Keymer has served as a member of the Board since November 2008 and has nearly 30 years of experience as an executive in large restaurant chain operations. He previously served as CEO of VICORP Restaurants between April 2007 and May 2008, where he oversaw the operations of 390 restaurants under the Baker's Square and Village Inn brand names, two commissaries and a dessert manufacturing operation. He led a senior executive team in developing sales- and profit-enhancing menu initiatives and prototype designs, successfully reducing losses and improving profitability. He had served as a member of VICORP's Board of Directors since July 2005 before additionally becoming CEO at the request of the Board of Directors and investors.

Mr. Keymer served as CEO of 1,800-unit AFC Enterprises between September 2005 and May 2007, having been President of that publicly traded company's Popeyes Chicken and Biscuits business segment between June 2004 and September 2005. In those capacities, he was instrumental in enhancing relations with the investment community, achieving new unit growth of approximately 10% per year, broadening the menu and leading the company through the crisis of Hurricane Katrina, which severely impacted one of its most important geographic regions. In the 1984 through 1986 period, he had been a Vice President of Popeyes.

Prior to June 2004, he was President, Co-CEO and Board member of Noodles & Company; President, COO and Board member of Sonic Corporation and its subsidiaries; Executive Vice President of Perkins Family Restaurants; Senior Vice President of Boston Chicken; Vice President of Taco Bell Corporation; V.P. Operations and Human Resources with Sambos Restaurants; and Director of Human Resources for Hardee's Food Systems. Prior to beginning his foodservice career in 1979, he held positions with the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations and the Defense Intelligence Agency. He holds an M.S.A in Information Technology from George Washington University and a B.S. in Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy.

About NTN Buzztime, Inc.

NTN Buzztime, Inc., a leader in interactive entertainment for 25 years, is based in Carlsbad, CA. Buzztime is distributed in-home and out-of-home across broadband platforms including online, cable TV, satellite TV and in approximately 3,760 restaurants, sports bars and pubs throughout North America. Buzztime entertainment is also available on electronic games and in books. For more information, please visit http://www.buzztime.com.

Buzztime is a proud member of the OVAB |Out-of-home Video Advertising Bureau.

Buzztime is a registered trademark of Buzztime Entertainment, Inc. and Playmaker is a registered trademark of NTN Buzztime, Inc.

Forward-looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements which reflect management's current views of future events and operations. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include corporate governance matters, the risk of changing economic conditions, failure of product demand or market acceptance of both existing and new products and services and the impact of competitive products and pricing. Please see NTN Buzztime, Inc.'s recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for information about these and other risks that may affect the Company. All forward-looking statements included in this release are based on information available to us on the date hereof. These statements speak only as of the date hereof, and NTN Buzztime, Inc. does not undertake to publicly update or revise any of its forward-looking statements, even if experience or future changes show that the indicated results or events will not be realized.

COMPANY CONTACT:
Kendra Berger
Chief Financial Officer
NTN Buzztime, Inc.
(760) 438-7400

CCG CONTACT:
Mark Collinson
Partner
CCG Investor Relations
(310) 954-1343

Maybe there will be an 8,999 to shake things up

When you play one of the 30-minute "Countdown"-like NTN Buzztime games, your score can be anywhere between 0 and 15,000. If you are a Players Plus member, you can earn bonus points if your final score is above a total that is displayed at the beginning of the game. In the past when I've played, the score needed to earn Players Plus points would vary - sometimes 9,000, sometimes 7,000, sometimes even less.

But RoadDog has noticed something recently:

[W]hat I want to know is why NTN continues to go through posting how many points it takes to get the Players Plus Bonus. It used to vary, but now is a guaranteed 9000. Why waste the time?

I haven't confirmed this myself, so I don't know whether this is just a fluke of RoadDog's visits, or if NTN Buzztime has really changed its policy. I personally don't care, since my goal is to score over 10,000 on these games, but I'm sure some people miss the lower totals.

Why do we play NTN Buzztime and other trivia games?

Perhaps you grab a Playmaker and match wits in NTN Buzztime. Perhaps you audition for Jeopardy, hoping to be the next Ken Jennings.

Why do you do it?

The blog things notre dame students like examined this very question:

Notre Dame Students love matching wits with other Notre Dame students. They start pointless debates in dorms, classrooms, bars, parties, and dining halls that include just about any topic. Politics, sports, religion, movies, history, literature, music, and television can all provide ample topics for Notre Dame Students to discuss, and they can all provide ample questions for Notre Dame Students to answer.

Because of this, Notre Dame Students love trivia. They love all kinds of trivia. Trivia games they can play alone in their free time, such as watching Jeopardy on TV or playing Sporcle.com...are useful tools to practice, but Notre Dame Students really love the competition. Some will get this competition amongst their friends by playing trivia games at Buffalo Wild Wings....

But why?

The main reason that Notre Dame Students love trivia, however, is not just because they have an innate desire to compete, but because they want to prove that they are smarter than they next guy.

But how does one define "smarter"?

Through trivia outlets, students are able to prove who has more worthless knowledge in their mind, who reads the most random Wikipedia pages, who is the most in tune with popular culture, and who can form the brightest teams; all important aspects of smartness.

Sounds reasonable to me.

Well, the DC area didn't have a baseball team for several decades.

NTN Buzztime has announced that the city of Alexandria, Virginia, placed 186th out of 186h in the "training camp" round of its current "25 Years of Sports Trivia" promotion.

Here is the complete press release:

CARLSBAD, Calif., July 14, 2009 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ ----NTN Buzztime, Inc. (NYSE Amex: NTN: 0.36, -0.03, -7.69%) released its rankings of the best and worst sports-knowledgeable states and cities. The state of Texas and the greater Chicago area led the nation and took first place in the hour-long Training Camp leading up to Buzztime's 25 Years of Sports Trivia Championship. Virginia, specifically Alexandria, took a disappointing last place proving that its residents need to step up their game during the Qualifying Round.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080331/CLM183LOGO)

Data provided by interactive gaming company, NTN Buzztime, Inc., revealed a breakdown of how each state and each city scored on its sports-trivia knowledge. On Wednesday, July 8, for one-hour nation-wide, trivia-goers filled restaurants and sports bars offering Buzztime games in an attempt to claim the top spot of most knowledgeable sports fan. Sports covered during the pre-qualifying round game included: baseball, basketball, football, golf, horse racing, and NASCAR.

In true sports form, the competition continues with a three-week Qualifying Round that kicked off yesterday, and runs through July 31. During this round, registered Buzztime players will play the 25 Years of Sports game online, via mobile or within Buzztime's network of bars and restaurants across North America to earn the necessary qualifying points to advance. Contestants earn 10 times as many qualifying points for playing at Buzztime's network of bars and restaurants. Ultimately, 18 lucky players will be awarded the trip of a lifetime to attend the Sports Legends Challenge held September 14-17, 2009 at Atlantis Paradise Island, Bahamas.

More information about the competition, including how to register, can be found at www.buzztime.com/25yos.

Current State rankings (in order):

Top 10 Bottom 10
1) Texas 50) Virginia
2) Ohio 49) Alaska
3) California 48) Utah
4) Florida 47) Hawaii
5) Illinois 46) Wyoming
6) Indiana 45) Maine
7) Arizona 44) South Dakota
8) Wisconsin 43) Montana
9) Minnesota 42) Idaho
10) Colorado 41) New Hampshire

Current city rankings (in order):

Top 10 Bottom 10
1) Chicago 186) Alexandria
2) Los Angeles 185) Jackson
3) Dallas-Fort Worth 184) Eugene
4) Minneapolis-Saint Paul 183) Tyler-Longview-Lufkin-
5) Phoenix Nacogdoches
6) Denver 182) Marquette
7) Tampa-Saint Petersburg-Sarasota 181) Erie
8) Cincinnati 180) Chattanooga
9) Detroit 179) Monroe-El Dorado
10) Houston 178) Watertown
177) Columbus-Tupelo-West Point



About NTN Buzztime, Inc.

NTN Buzztime, Inc., a leader in interactive entertainment for 25 years, is based in Carlsbad, CA. Buzztime is distributed in-home and out-of-home across broadband platforms including online, mobile, satellite TV and in approximately 3,800 restaurants, sports bars and pubs throughout North America. For more information, please visit www.buzztime.com.

Buzztime is a proud member of the OVAB |Out-of-home Video Advertising Bureau.

Buzztime is a registered trademark of Buzztime Entertainment, Inc. and Playmaker is a registered trademark of NTN Buzztime, Inc.

Forward-looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements which reflect management's current views of future events and operations including but not limited to trends in subscriber and player preference and engagement and results of marketing strategies. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical results or those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include risks associated with our recent management transition, our significant losses, our ability to grow our out-of-home Buzztime iTV network and implement our other business strategies, the risk of changing economic conditions, failure of product demand or market acceptance of both existing and new products and services and the impact of competitive products and pricing. Please see NTN Buzztime, Inc.'s recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for information about these and other risks that may affect the Company. All forward-looking statements included in this release are based on information available to us on the date hereof. These statements speak only as of the date hereof, and NTN Buzztime, Inc. does not undertake to publicly update or revise any of its forward-looking statements, even if experience or future changes show that the indicated results or events will not be realized.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Katy Harrison, Bailey Gardiner
619-295-8232
katy@baileygardiner.com



SOURCE NTN Buzztime, Inc.

http://www.buzztime.com

Are you a devoted NTN Buzztime trivia player?

The Little Cat Blog provided an example of trivia dedication:

And, of course, we played trivia at Buffalo Wild Wings in Wilmington, NC (minutes from Wrightsville Beach). Did you really think we'd travel somewhere and skip trivia? Hell, we even drove through a thunderstorm the size of South Carolina to get there. Literally, there was feet of water on the road in places.

Read more here, and admire the Playmaker pic.

I guess it takes a threatened corporate takeover to get me to post here

I just realized that I haven't posted to this blog in a while. Much has happened, and I recommend that you follow @buzztimegirl on Twitter to keep up. But this San Diego Reader article was interesting.

Carlsbad’s NTN Buzztime provides interactive electronic entertainment in restaurants and sports bars — trivia quiz shows, play-along sports programs, casino-style games, and the like. It has almost 4000 subscribers. But NTN has been a loser for years.

After describing the financials, the article then goes on to say the following:

There have been “significant changes in executive leadership,” says the company in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. One chief executive resigned in May of last year, and the interim chief resigned in November. “Changes in senior management are inherently disruptive.”

And what is happening now?

That’s one reason that a Cayman Islands–based hedge fund, Trinad Capital, which owns almost 15 percent of the stock, says it has evidence of mismanagement, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and waste of corporate assets. It has filed a lawsuit and announced it may attempt to wage a battle for control of the company.

I briefly mentioned Trinad Capital back in March. Yahoo reports that they've continued to buy NTN shares - 125,000 in April and 50,000 in May, for example. Because of NTN Buzztime's low stock price, it hasn't cost them a lot to do this. However, there haven't been any purchases since May 15, so I'm not sure what they're planning.