NTN Buzztime is a company that produces interactive entertainment across many different platforms. Its most well-known product, simply called Buzztime, and formerly known as the NTN Network, since 1985, broadcasts

trivia Trivia is information and data that are considered to be of little value. It can be contrasted with general knowledge and common sense. Latin Etymology The ancient Romans used the word ''triviae'' to describe where one road split or forked ...

and other games via broadband over a national

network Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematics ...

to over 3,800

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

s and

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

s in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

. Operations in the UK were discontinued in 2008. Available to players outside a bar in the 1990s as NTN Trivia on Sierra's, prime before its time, online gaming network, Imagination Network (INN) where INN players competed against all other players globally and made rankings, etc like those playing at bar locations, but without the boozing. INN went defunct after its buyout by ATT. Typically, independently owned bars and restaurants offer Buzztime. It is, however, offered by each outlet of two major U.S. chains,

Buffalo Wild Wings Buffalo Wild Wings (originally Buffalo Wild Wings & Weck, hence the nickname BDubs, or BW3) is an American casual dining restaurant and sports bar franchise in the United States, Canada, India, Mexico, Panama, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, and Unit ...

and Damon's Grill. As of August 2021, Buffalo Wild Wings only carries Buzztime in 7 U.S. locations in 5 different states. It is also carried at limited T.G.I. Friday's and

Applebee's Applebee's Restaurants LLC. is an American company that develops, franchises, and operates the Applebee's Neighborhood Grill + Bar restaurant chain. The Applebee's concept focuses on casual dining, with mainstream American dishes such as salads ...

locations. Buzztime offers several different kinds of trivia games based on a variety of subjects, including

pop culture Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * Pop (Gas al ...

entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousa ...

world history World history may refer to: * Human history, the history of human beings * History of Earth, the history of planet Earth * World history (field), a field of historical study that takes a global perspective * ''World History'' (album), a 1998 albu ...

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

sport Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...

s and

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

, as well as general trivia games with questions in many categories. NTN Buzztime, Inc. is based in

Carlsbad, California Carlsbad is a coastal city in the North County region of San Diego County, California, United States. The city is south of downtown Los Angeles and north of downtown San Diego. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 114,746. ...

. The company was founded as Alroy Industries and formerly went by the name NTN Communications, Inc. from 1985 to 2005.

Other products

NTN Buzztime used to produce a variety of wireless paging products, the most common example being a device that vibrates when a food order is ready. The wireless product division was sold in 2006. NTN Buzztime also once produced and distributed ProHost Seating and Reservations Software for managing door and floor operations in Restaurants, Casinos, Theme Parks, Hotels, in its Arlington, TX office- known as "Software Solutions". Signature customers include Harrah's Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Universal Studios and Hard Rock Cafe. The software solutions division was sold by NTN Buzztime, Inc. in 2007 to ESP Digital Media.

Lawsuits

In 1997, a complaint was filed charging NTN for devising an "exit strategy" that would provide certain defendants with millions of dollars of compensation upon their resignation. In 2000, a settlement of $3,250,000 was approved. In January 2008, the company filed a legal suit, in the

Southern District of California The United States District Court for the Southern District of California (in case citations, S.D. Cal.) is a federal court in the Ninth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are app ...

against

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), formerly known as Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE), is a multinational video game and digital entertainment company wholly owned by multinational conglomerate Sony. The SIE Group is made up of two legal co ...

, alleging that Sony had violated several of its trademarks. The suit accused Sony of a "malicious, fraudulent, knowing, wilful, and deliberate" violation of its trademarks. In the suit, Buzztime sought the recall and destruction of all infringing products and asked the court for actual damages, punitive damages, legal fees and an order to the US Patent and Trademark Office not to register Sony's then pending

Buzz! ''Buzz!'' is a series of video games originated by Sleepydog Ltd., developed by Relentless Software and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable consoles. They are quiz games that s ...

trademarks. The case was eventually settled out of court in favor of Sony.

Notes and references

External links

NTN Buzztime corporate website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ntn Buzztime Companies listed on NYSE American Quiz games Video game companies of the United States Companies based in San Diego Video game companies established in 1983 Companies based in Carlsbad, California