Dolphin Entertainment, Inc. - Annual Report: 2018 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form 10-K

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018

Or

Commission file number: 001-38331

DOLPHIN ENTERTAINMENT, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant’s telephone number (305) 774-0407

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

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

None

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

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

Indicate by a check mark if 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. þ Yes ¨ No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted 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). þ Yes ¨ No

Indicate by a check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. ¨

Indicate by a 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:

Emerging Growth Company ¨

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. ¨

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

The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates computed by reference to the price at which the common equity was last sold, as of the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter: $15,699,925

Number of shares outstanding of the registrant’s common stock as of April 4, 2019: 14,394,562

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the Registrant’s definitive proxy statement for its 2019 annual meeting of shareholders, which proxy statement will be filed no later than 120 days after the close of the Registrant’s fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, are hereby incorporated by reference in Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FORM 10-K

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PART I

Unless the context otherwise requires, all references to “we”, “us”, “our, “Dolphin” and the “Company” refer to Dolphin Entertainment, Inc., a Florida corporation, and its consolidated subsidiaries.

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

Overview

We are a leading independent entertainment marketing and premium content development company. Through our subsidiaries, 42West LLC (“42West”) and The Door Marketing Group LLC (“The Door”), we provide expert strategic marketing and publicity services to many of the top brands, both individual and corporate, in the entertainment and hospitality industries.  The Door and 42West are both recognized global leaders in the PR services for the industries they serve. Our recent acquisition of Viewpoint Computer Animation Incorporated (“Viewpoint”) has added full-service creative branding and production capabilities to our marketing group.  Dolphin’s legacy content production business, founded by Emmy-nominated Chief Executive Officer, Bill O’Dowd, has produced multiple feature films and award-winning digital series, primarily aimed at the family and young adult markets.

We were first incorporated in the State of Nevada on March 7, 1995 and domesticated in the State of Florida on December 4, 2014.  Our common stock trades on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “DLPN”.

We currently operate in two reportable segments:  our entertainment publicity and marketing segment and our content production segment. The entertainment publicity and marketing segment is composed of 42West, The Door and Viewpoint and provides clients with diversified services, including public relations, entertainment content marketing, strategic communications, social media marketing, creative branding, and the production of marketing video content. The content production segment is composed of Dolphin Films, Inc. (“Dolphin Films”) and Dolphin Digital Studios, which produce and distribute feature films and digital content.

With respect to our entertainment publicity and marketing segment, we currently see a favorable environment for organic growth.  The original content budgets of many large studios and streaming services have grown considerably the past few years, and are expected to continue to do so for the foreseeable future.  Furthermore, 2019 and 2020 are scheduled to see the entrance, or large-scale expansion, of streaming services from Disney, Warner Bros., NBC Universal and Apple, all to compete with Netflix, Amazon and Hulu. We believe that the foremost differentiating factor for all of these platforms will be original programming and, consequently, it is anticipated that there will be an increase of billions of dollars in programming spend across the market.  We also believe that each of these original shows will need substantial public relations and marketing campaigns to drive consumer awareness of both the show themselves and the respective platforms on which to find them.

Additionally, we have endeavored to create a “marketing super group”, combining marketing, public relations, branding, and digital production, that will serve as a platform for organic growth via the cross-selling of services among our subsidiaries.  By way of example, both 42West and The Door have identified the ability to create content for clients as a “must have” for public relations campaigns in today’s environment, which relies so heavily on video clips to drive social media awareness and engagement. Thus, we believe that our acquisition of Viewpoint provides a critical competitive advantage in the acquisition of new clients in the entertainment and lifestyle marketing space, and has the potential to fuel topline revenue growth as the average revenue per client increases with the cross-selling of video content creation services.

Finally, we believe that 42West and our existing portfolio of public relations and marketing companies will continue to attract future acquisitions. We believe that our “marketing super group” is unique in the industry, as a collection of best-in-class service providers across a variety of entertainment and lifestyle verticals. We further believe that with each new acquisition in this space, our portfolio will increase its breadth and depth of services and, therefore, be able to offer an even more compelling opportunity for other industry leaders to join, and enjoy the benefits of cross-selling to a wide variety of existing and potential clients. Thus, we believe we can continue to grow both revenues and profits through future acquisitions into our entertainment publicity and marketing segment.

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Growth Opportunities and Strategies

We are focused on driving growth through the following:

Expand and grow 42West to serve more clients with a broad array of interrelated services. As a result of 42West’s acquisition by Dolphin and enhanced by the recent acquisition of Viewpoint, 42West has the ability to create promotional and marketing content for clients, a critical service for celebrities and marketers alike in today’s digital world. We believe that by the addition of content creation to 42West’s capabilities, we can capitalize on unique synergies to drive organic growth, which we expect will allow us to both attract new clients and broaden our offering of billable services to existing ones. We also believe that the skills and experience of our 42West business in entertainment PR are readily transferable to related business sectors, such as sports. The growing involvement in non-entertainment businesses by many of our existing entertainment clients has allowed 42West to establish a presence and develop expertise outside its traditional footprint. Using this as a foundation, we are now working to expand our involvement in these new areas.

We also expect to continue to grow 42West’s current business divisions. For example:

·

In the Entertainment Marketing division, several of our large key clients have announced increased movie marketing budgets over the next several years that we expect will drive growth of our revenue and profits;

·

In the Talent division, we expect to continue to drive significant growth through the hiring of additional individuals or teams whose existing books of business and talent rosters can be accretive to revenues and profits of the business; and

·

In the Strategic Communications division, we believe that growth will be driven by increasing demand for these services by traditional and non-traditional media clients over the next three to five years as they expand their activities in the content production, branding, and consumer products sectors. We believe that this growth could result in the Strategic Communications division significantly increasing its contribution to revenue and profit, as this division typically generates higher profit margins than the other 42West divisions.

Expand and grow The Door through the expansion of Consumer Products PR business.  The Door’s market-leading position in both the food and hospitality verticals, with many clients which have consumer-facing products and the need for attendant marketing campaigns, has provided the Company with the requisite experience for a successful entry into the high-margin consumer products PR business with potential clients outside of the food and hospitality verticals. We plan to significantly increase the number of consumer products PR accounts at The Door through the hiring of a dedicated team of experienced professionals for this new business line.  Such accounts often generate higher monthly fees and longer-term engagements than any other customer vertical.

Diversify Viewpoint’s Client Base.  Viewpoint is a leading creative branding agency and promotional video content producer for the television industry, with long-term clients such as HBO, Discovery Networks, Showtime and AMC.  Through 42West and The Door, Viewpoint can offer its best-in-class services to several new verticals, including motion picture production and distribution companies, restaurant groups, the hospitality and travel industry and the marketers of consumer products. The ability for Viewpoint to reach clients of 42West and The Door provides Viewpoint with the opportunity to diversity its client base, while allowing 42West and The Door to increase their service offerings to, existing and future clients, potentially driving increased revenues.

Opportunistically grow through complementary acquisitions. We plan to selectively pursue acquisitions to further enhance our competitive advantages, scale our revenues, and increase our profitability. Our acquisition strategy is based on identifying and acquiring companies that complement our existing entertainment publicity services businesses. We believe that complementary businesses, such as digital and social media marketing, event planning and PR firms in other entertainment verticals, can create synergistic opportunities that may increase profits and operating cash flow. We intend to complete at least one acquisition during the next year, although there is no assurance that we will be successful in doing so.

Build a portfolio of premium film, television and digital content. We intend to grow and diversify our portfolio of film and digital content by capitalizing on demand for high quality digital media and film content throughout the world marketplace. We plan to balance our financial risks against the probability of commercial success for each project. We believe that our strategic focus on content and creation of innovative content distribution strategies will enhance our competitive position in the industry, ensure optimal use of our capital, build a diversified foundation for future growth and generate long-term value for our shareholders. Finally, we believe that marketing strategies that will be developed by 42West will drive our creative content, thus creating greater potential for profitability.

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Entertainment Publicity and Marketing

42West

Through 42West, an entertainment public relations agency, we offer talent publicity, entertainment (motion picture and television) marketing and strategic communications services. Prior to its acquisition, 42West grew to become one of the largest independently-owned public relations firms in the entertainment industry. As such, we believe that 42West has served, and will continue to serve, as an “acquisition magnet” for us to acquire new members of our marketing “super group,” which has the ability to provide synergistic new members with the opportunity to grow revenues and profits through 42West’s access, relationships and experience in the entertainment industry.

Our public relations and marketing professionals at 42West develop and execute marketing and publicity strategies for dozens of movies and television shows annually, as well as for individual actors, filmmakers, recording artists, and authors. Through 42West, we provide services in the following areas:

Talent Publicity

We focus on creating and implementing strategic communication campaigns for performers and entertainers, including television and film stars, recording artists, authors, models and theater actors. Our talent roster includes Oscar- and Emmy-winning actors and Grammy-nominated singers and musicians and New York Times best-selling authors. Our services in this area include ongoing strategic counsel, media relations, studio, network, charity, corporate liaison and event and tour support.

Entertainment Marketing

We provide marketing direction, public relations counsel and media strategy for productions (including theatrical films, DVD and VOD releases, television programs, and online series) as well as content producers, ranging from individual filmmakers and creative artists to production companies, film financiers, DVD distributors, and other entities. Our capabilities include worldwide studio releases, independent films, television programming and web productions. We provide entertainment marketing services in connection with film festivals, awards campaigns, event publicity and red carpet management.

Strategic Communications

Our strategic communications team advises high-profile individuals and companies faced with sensitive situations or looking to raise, reposition, or rehabilitate their public profiles. We also help studios and filmmakers deal with controversial movies.

Much of the activities of our strategic communications team involves orchestrating high-stakes communications campaigns in response to sensitive, complex situations where clients seek to rehabilitate their public profiles. We also help companies define objectives, develop messaging, create brand identities, and construct long-term strategies to achieve specific goals, as well as manage functions such as media relations or internal communications on a day-to-day basis. The strategic communications team focuses on strategic communications counsel, corporate positioning, brand enhancement, media relations, reputation and issues management, litigation support and crisis management and communications. Our clients include major studios and production companies, record labels, media conglomerates, technology companies, philanthropic organizations, talent guilds, and trade associations, as well as a wide variety of high-profile individuals, ranging from major movie and pop stars to top executives and entrepreneurs.

The Door

Through The Door, a hospitality, lifestyle and consumer products public relations agency, we offer traditional public relations services, as well as social media marketing, creative branding, and strategic counsel. Prior to its acquisition by us, The Door was widely considered the leading independent public relations firm in the hospitality and lifestyle industries. Among other benefits, The Door acquisition has expanded our entertainment verticals through the addition of celebrity chefs and their restaurants, as well as with live events, such as some of the most prestigious food and wine festivals.

Our public relations and marketing professionals at The Door develop and execute marketing and publicity strategies for dozens of restaurant and hotel groups annually, as well as for individual chefs, live events, and consumer-facing corporations.

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Viewpoint

Viewpoint is a full-service, boutique creative branding and production agency that has earned a reputation as one of the top producers of promotional brand-support videos for a wide variety of leading cable networks in the television industry.  Viewpoint’s capabilities run the full range of creative branding and production, from concept creation to final delivery, and include:  brand strategy, concept and creative development, design & art direction, script & copywriting, live action production & photography, digital development, video editing & composite, animation, audio mixing & engineering, project management and technical support.

Content Production

Dolphin Films

Dolphin Films is a content producer of motion pictures. We own the rights to several scripts that we intend to produce at a future date.

Our pipeline of feature films includes:

·

Youngblood, an updated version of the 1986 hockey classic;

·

Out of Their League, a romantic comedy pitting husband against wife in the cut-throat world of fantasy football; and

·

Ask Me, a teen comedy in which a high-school student starts a business to help her classmates create elaborate “promposals”.

We have completed development of each of these feature films, which means that we have completed the script and can begin pre-production if and when financing is obtained.  We also own several other scripts that we may determine to produce as digital content if online distribution is secured.

Dolphin Digital Studios

Dolphin Digital Studios creates original content to premiere online in the form of web series, sources financing for our digital media projects and distributes our web series through a variety of distribution partners depending on the demographic served.

Competition

The businesses in which we engage are highly competitive. Through 42West and The Door, we compete against other public relations and marketing communications companies, as well as independent and niche agencies to win new clients and maintain existing client relationships. Through Viewpoint, we compete against other creative branding agencies, as well as in-house creative teams at many of our clients.  Our content production business faces competition from companies within the entertainment business and from alternative forms of leisure entertainment, such as travel, sporting events, video games and computer-related activities. We are subject to competition from other digital media and motion production companies, as well as from large, well-established companies within the entertainment industry that have significantly greater development, production, distribution and capital resources than us. We compete for the acquisition of literary properties and for the services of producers, directors, actors and other artists as well as creative and technical personnel and production financing, all of which are essential to the success of our business. In addition, our productions compete for audience acceptance and advertising dollars.

We believe that we compete on the basis of the following competitive strengths:

·

Market Reputations of 42West and The Door — both 42West and The Door consistently rank among the most prestigious and powerful public relations firms in the United States (both ranking in the Top 15 Most Powerful PR Firms each of the last two years, as published by the New York Observer), which is a significant competitive advantage given the nature of the entertainment marketing and public relations industry, in which “perception is power”;

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·

An Exceptional Management Team—our CEO, Mr. O’Dowd, has a 20-year history of producing and delivering high-quality family entertainment. In addition, 42West’s three co-CEOs, Leslee Dart, Amanda Lundberg, and Allan Mayer, along with The Door’s CEO, Charlie Dougiello and President, Lois O’Neill, are all longtime PR practitioners, with decades of experience, and are widely regarded as being among the top communications strategists in the entertainment industry, as evidenced by the market reputation of their companies; and

·

Our Ability to Offer Interrelated Services—we believe that the ability to create video and other promotional content for our 42West and The Door clients, primarily through the services of Viewpoint, and the ability to internally develop and execute marketing campaigns for our digital and film productions will allow us to expand and grow each of our business lines.

Employees

As of March 15, 2019, we had 144 full-time employees. We believe our relationship with our employees is good. We also utilize consultants in the ordinary course of our business and hire additional employees on a project-by-project basis in connection with the production of digital media projects or motion pictures.

Regulatory Matters

We are subject to state and federal work and safety laws and disclosure obligations, under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and similar state organizations.

As a public company, we are subject to the reporting requirements under Section 13(a) and Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. To the extent we are subject to these requirements, we will have our financial statements audited by an independent public accounting firm that is registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and comply with Rule 8-03 or 10-01(d), as applicable, of Regulation S-X.

Corporate Offices

Our corporate headquarters is located at 2151 Le Jeune Road, Suite 150-Mezzanine, Coral Gables, Florida 33134. We also have offices located at 600 3rd Avenue, 23rd Floor, New York, New York, 10016, 37 West 17^th Street, 5^th Floor, New York, New York, 10011, 1840 Century Park East, Suite 700, Los Angeles, California 90067, 1460 West Chicago Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, 60642 and 55 Chapel Street, Newton, Massachusetts, 02458. Our telephone number is (305) 774-0407 and our website address is www.dolphinentertainment.com.  Information available on, or accessible through, our website is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Use of our Website to Distribute Material Company Information

We use our website as a channel of distribution for important Company information. We routinely post on our website important information, including press releases, investor presentations and financial information, which may be accessed by clicking on the Investor Relations section of www.dolphinentertainment.com. We also use our website to expedite public access to time-critical information regarding our Company in advance of or in lieu of distributing a press release or a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission disclosing the same information. Therefore, investors should look to the Investor Relations subpage of our website for important and time-critical information.

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

Risks Related to our Business and Financial Condition

Our independent auditors have expressed substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.

For each of the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, our independent auditors issued an explanatory paragraph in their audit report expressing substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern based upon our recurring losses from operations from prior years, our accumulated deficit, and our working capital deficit. The financial statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of these uncertainties. Management is planning to raise any necessary additional capital to fund our operating expenses through loans and additional sales of our common stock, securities convertible into our common stock, debt securities or a combination of such financing alternatives; however, there can be no assurance that we will be successful in raising any necessary additional capital. If we are not successful in raising additional capital, we may not have enough financial resources to support our business and operations and, as a result, may not be able to continue as a going concern and could be forced to liquidate. Please also see Note 2 to our audited consolidated financial statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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We have a history of net losses and may continue to incur net losses.

We have a history of net losses and may be unable to generate sufficient revenue to achieve profitability in the future. For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, our net loss was $2,913,321. Although we had net income of $6,912,524 for the year ended December 31, 2017, a substantial portion of such net income was attributable to a change in fair value of warrant liability and gain on extinguishment of debt. Our accumulated deficit was $94,529,174 and $92,899,680 at December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. Our ability to generate net profit in the future will depend on our ability to successfully produce and commercialize multiple web series and films, as no single project is likely to generate sufficient revenue to cover our operating expenses, and to realize the financial benefits from the operations of 42West, The Door and Viewpoint. If we are unable to generate net profit at some point, we will not be able to meet our debt service or working capital requirements. As a result, we may need to (i) issue additional equity, which could dilute the value of your share holdings, (ii) sell a portion or all of our assets, including any project rights which might have otherwise generated revenue, or (iii) cease operations.

We currently have substantial indebtedness which may adversely affect our cash flow and business operations and may affect our ability to continue to operate as a going concern.

We currently have a substantial amount of debt. We do not currently have sufficient assets to repay such debt in full when due, and our available cash flow may not be adequate to maintain our current operations if we are unable to repay, extend or refinance such indebtedness. The table below sets forth our total principal amount of debt and stockholders’ equity as of December 31, 2018 and 2017. Approximately $6.0 million of our total debt as of December 31, 2018 represented the fair value of the put options in connection with the 42West acquisition, which may or may not be exercised by the sellers. Approximately $2.4 million of our indebtedness as of December 31, 2018 (approximately $0.7 million outstanding under a prints and advertising loan agreement and $1.7 million outstanding under a production service agreement) was incurred by our subsidiary Dolphin Max Steel Holdings LLC and Max Steel Productions, LLC.  Max Steel Productions, LLC was a variable interest entity (or VIE) created in connection with the financing and production of Max Steel (the “Max Steel VIE”). The prints and advertising loan is partially secured by a $4.5 million corporate guaranty from an unaffiliated party associated with the motion picture, of which we have agreed to backstop $620,000. As a condition precedent to closing the loans, Dolphin Max Steel Holdings LLC delivered to the lenders clear chain-of-title to the rights of the motion picture Max Steel. Repayment of these loans was intended to be made from revenues generated by Max Steel both within and outside of the United States. Max Steel did not generate sufficient funds to repay either of these loans prior to the maturity date. As a result, if the lenders foreclose on the collateral securing the loans, our subsidiary will lose the copyright for Max Steel and, consequently, will no longer receive any revenues from Max Steel. In addition, we would impair the entire capitalized production costs of Max Steel included as an asset on our balance sheet, which as of December 31, 2018 was approximately $0.6 million. We are not parties to either of the loan agreements and have not guaranteed to the lenders any of the amounts outstanding, although we have provided a $620,000 backstop to the guarantor of the prints and advertising loan, as described above. As such, we believe that the only recourse for the lenders under the loans is to foreclose on the collateral securing the loans, which consists of the copyright for Max Steel. However, if a lender were to successfully assert that we are liable to the lenders for the payment of our subsidiary’s or the Max Steel VIE’s debt despite the lack of contractual obligation, we do not have sufficient funds to repay these loans, which would have a material adverse effect on our liquidity, financial condition and results of operations. Approximately $2.5 million of our debt is related to convertible notes payable and $1.7 million is a line of credit with Bank United.

Our indebtedness could have important negative consequences, including:

·

our ability to obtain additional financing for working capital, capital expenditures, future productions or other purposes may be impaired or such financing may not be available on favorable terms or at all;

·

we may have to pay higher interest rates upon obtaining future financing, thereby reducing our cash flows; and

·

we may need a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to make principal and interest payments on our indebtedness, reducing the funds that would otherwise be available for operations and future business opportunities.

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Our ability to service our indebtedness will depend upon, among other things, our future financial and operating performance and our ability to obtain additional financing, which will be affected by prevailing economic conditions, the profitability of our content production and entertainment publicity and marketing businesses and other factors contained in these Risk Factors, some of which are beyond our control.

If we are not able to generate sufficient cash to service our current or future indebtedness, we will be forced to take actions such as reducing or delaying digital or film productions, delaying or abandoning potential acquisitions, selling assets, restructuring or refinancing our indebtedness or seeking additional debt or equity capital or bankruptcy protection. We may not be able to effect any of these remedies on satisfactory terms or at all and our indebtedness may affect our ability to continue to operate as a going concern.

Our failure to comply with the requirements of our revolving line of credit could adversely affect our operating flexibility.

We have the ability to borrow money pursuant to a loan agreement between 42West and BankUnited, N.A., containing certain operating and financial covenants, which, among other things, restrict our ability to incur additional indebtedness, grant liens, make loans, investments or certain acquisitions, or enter into certain types of agreements. Our failure or inability to comply with the requirements of this facility, including meeting certain financial ratios or other covenants, could limit the availability of borrowings thereunder or result in an event of default. An event of default would permit acceleration of any outstanding indebtedness under this facility and would impair our ability to obtain working capital advances and letters of credit for 42West, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Litigation or legal proceedings could expose us to significant liabilities.

We are, and in the future may become, party to litigation claims and legal proceedings.  We face litigation risks regarding a variety of issues, including without limitation, copyright infringement, allegations against clients or events we provide marketing services for, alleged violations of federal and state labor and employment laws, securities laws, and other matters. These proceedings may be time consuming, expensive and disruptive to normal business operations. The defense of such lawsuits could result in significant expense and the diversion of our management’s time and attention from the operation of our business. Costs we incur to defend or to satisfy a judgment or settlement of these claims may not be covered by insurance or could exceed the amount of that coverage or increase our insurance costs and could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, liquidity and cash flows. 

Our management has determined that our disclosure controls and procedures and our internal controls over financial reporting are not effective as we have identified material weaknesses in our internal controls.

As disclosed in Part II, Item 9A. Controls and Procedures of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, management concluded that for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017,  our internal control over financial reporting was not effective and we identified several material weaknesses. Our management concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective due to material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.

We have commenced our remediation efforts as discussed in Part II, 9A. Controls and Procedures of this Annual Report on Form 10-K to address the material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting and ineffective disclosure controls and procedures.  If our remedial measures are insufficient, or if additional material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in our internal controls occur in the future, we could be required to restate our financial results, which could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition, restrict our ability to access the capital markets, require us to expend significant resources to correct the weakness or deficiencies, harm our reputation and otherwise cause a decline in investor confidence. In addition, we could be subject to, among other things, regulatory or enforcement actions by the Securities and Exchange Commission, (the “SEC” or the “Commission”).

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The operation of our business could be adversely affected if Max Steel VIE goes bankrupt or becomes subject to a dissolution or liquidation proceeding.

Max Steel VIE holds certain of our intellectual property and film distribution rights which are security for certain of the Max Steel VIE’s debt obligations. Max Steel VIE is currently in default on all or a portion of those debt obligations. If Max Steel VIE is unable to repay such debts and the debt holders foreclose on such debts and take control of the intellectual property and film distribution rights, we may be unable to continue some or all of our business activities, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, if Max Steel VIE undergoes a voluntary or involuntary liquidation proceeding, independent third-party creditors may claim rights to some or all of these assets, thereby hindering our ability to operate our business, which could materially and adversely affect our future revenue from such film.

We rely on information technology systems that are susceptible to cybersecurity risks.  In the event of a cybersecurity incident, we could experience operational interruptions, incur substantial additional costs, become subject to legal or regulatory proceedings or suffer damage to our reputation.

We rely on information technologies and infrastructure to manage our businesses, including digital storage of marketing strategies and client information, films and digital programming and delivery of digital marketing services for our businesses. Data maintained in digital form is subject to the risk of intrusion, tampering and theft. The incidence of malicious technology-related events, such as cyberattacks, computer hacking, computer viruses, worms or other destructive or disruptive software, denial of service attacks or other malicious activities is on the rise worldwide. Power outages, equipment failure, natural disasters (including extreme weather), terrorist activities or human error may also affect our systems and result in disruption of our services or loss or improper disclosure of personal data, business information or other confidential information.

Likewise, data privacy breaches, as well as improper use of social media, by employees and others may pose a risk that sensitive data, such as personally identifiable information, strategic plans and trade secrets, could be exposed to third parties or to the general public. We also utilize third parties, including third-party “cloud” computing services, to store, transfer or process data, and system failures or network disruptions or breaches in the systems of such third parties could adversely affect our reputation or business. Any such breaches or breakdowns could lead to business interruption, exposure of our or our clients’ proprietary or confidential information, data corruption, damage to our reputation, , exposure to legal and regulatory proceedings and other costs.  Such events could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.  In addition, we could be adversely affected if any of our significant customers or suppliers experience any similar events that disrupt their business operations or damage their reputation. Efforts to develop, implement and maintain security measures are costly, may not be successful in preventing these events from occurring and require ongoing monitoring and updating as technologies change and efforts to overcome security measures become more sophisticated. Although we maintain monitoring practices and protections of our information technology to reduce these risks, there can be no assurance that our efforts will prevent the risk of a security breach of our databases or systems that could adversely affect our business.

Entertainment Publicity and Marketing Business

Our business could be adversely affected if we fail to retain the principal sellers, and other key employees of 42West and The Door and the clients they serve.

The success of our entertainment publicity and marketing business operated by 42West and The Door substantially depends on our ability to retain the services of Leslee Dart, Amanda Lundberg, Allan Mayer, Charles Dougiello and Lois O’Neill each a former owner of 42West or The Door, who we refer to collectively as the principal sellers. If we lose the services of one or more of these individuals, our ability to successfully implement our business plan with respect to our entertainment publicity and marketing business and the value of our common stock could be materially adversely affected. Although we entered into employment agreements with each of the principal sellers, there can be no assurance that they will serve the terms of their respective employment agreements or choose to remain with us following the expiration of such terms. In addition, the employees of 42West, and their skills and relationships with clients, are among our most valuable assets. In June of 2018, three of 42West’s most senior publicists and their related staff left the firm to form their own company.  Their departures resulted in a significant decrease in revenues.  An important aspect of the business’ competitiveness is its ability to retain such key employees. If 42West or The Door fails to hire and retain a sufficient number of these key employees, it may have a material adverse effect on our overall business and results of operations.

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42West’s talent roster currently includes some of the best known and most highly respected members of the entertainment community in addition to major studios and networks, corporations and well-known consumer brands. The Door’s client roster includes celebrity chefs and leading restaurant and hotel brands.  These clients often form highly loyal relationships with certain public relations and marketing professionals rather than with a particular firm. The employment agreements with the principal sellers currently contain non-competition provisions that prohibit the principal sellers from continuing to provide services to such clients should they leave our company, however, clients are free to engage other public relations and marketing professionals and there can be no assurance that they will choose to remain with our company. The success of 42West and The Door, therefore, depend on our ability to continue to successfully maintain such client relationships should the principal sellers or other key employees leave our company. If we are unable to retain the current 42West and The Door clients or attract new clients, then we could suffer a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

42West, The Door and Viewpoint operate in a highly competitive industry.

The entertainment publicity and marketing business is highly competitive. Through 42West and The Door, we must compete with other agencies, and with other providers of entertainment publicity services, in order to maintain existing client relationships and to win new clients. Through Viewpoint, we compete against other creative branding agencies, as well as in-house creative teams at many of our clients.  The client’s perception of the quality of an agency’s creative work and the agency’s reputation are critical factors in determining its competitive position.

The success of our entertainment publicity and marketing business depends on its ability to consistently and effectively deliver marketing and public relations services to its clients.

42West and The Door’s success depends on its ability to effectively and consistently staff and execute client engagements to achieve the clients’ unique personal or professional goals. 42West and The Door work to design customized communications or publicity campaigns tailored to the particular needs and objectives of particular projects. In some of its engagements, 42West and The Door rely on other third parties to provide some of the services to its clients, and we cannot guarantee that these third parties will effectively deliver their services or that we will have adequate recourse against these third parties in the event they fail to effectively deliver their services. Other contingencies and events outside of our control may also impact 42West and The Door’s ability to provide its services. 42West and The Door’s failure to effectively and timely staff, coordinate and execute its client engagements may adversely impact existing client relationships, the amount or timing of payments from clients, its reputation in the marketplace and ability to secure additional business and our resulting financial performance. In addition, our contractual arrangements with our clients may not provide us with sufficient protections against claims for lost profits or other claims for damages.

If we are unable to adapt to changing client demands, social and cultural trends or emerging technologies, we may not remain competitive and our business, revenues and operating results could suffer.

We operate in an industry characterized by rapidly changing client expectations, marketing technologies, and social mores and cultural trends that impact our target audiences. The entertainment industry continues to undergo significant developments as advances in technologies and new methods of message delivery and consumption emerge. These developments drive changes in our target audiences’ behavior to which we must adapt in order to reach our target audiences. In addition, our success depends on our ability to anticipate and respond to changing social mores and cultural trends that impact the entertainment industry and our target audiences. We must adapt our business to these trends, as well as shifting patterns of content consumption and changing behaviors and preferences of our target audiences, through the adoption and exploitation of new technologies. If we cannot successfully exploit emerging technologies or if the marketing strategies we choose misinterpret cultural or social trends and prove to be incorrect or ineffective, any of these could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, operating results, liquidity and prospects.

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A significant labor dispute in our clients’ industries could have a material adverse effect on our business.

An industry-wide strike or other job action by or affecting the Writers Guild, Screen Actors Guild or other major entertainment industry union could reduce the supply of original entertainment content, which would in turn reduce the demand for our talent and entertainment marketing services. An extensive work stoppage would affect feature film production as well as television and commercial production and could have a material adverse effect on our clients and the motion picture production industry in general. For example, on November 5, 2007, the Writers Guild declared a strike affecting the script writing for television shows and films. The strike, which lasted until February 12, 2008, significantly affected the entertainment industry which consequently, had a material adverse impact on revenue generated by public relations and entertainment marketing agencies. Contracts between entertainment industry unions and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which we refer to as AMPTP, expire from time to time. The failure to finalize and ratify a new agreement with the AMPTP or the failure to enter into new commercial contracts upon expiration of the current contracts could lead to a strike or other job action. Any such severe or prolonged work stoppage could have an adverse effect on the television and/or motion picture production industries and could severely impair our clients’ prospects. Any resulting decrease in demand for our talent and entertainment marketing and other public relations services would have a material adverse effect on our cash flows and results of operations.

Clients may terminate or reduce their relationships with us on short notice.

As is customary in the industry, 42West’s and The Door’s agreements with their respective clients generally provide for termination by either party on relatively short notice, usually 30 days. Consequently, these clients may choose to reduce or terminate their relationships with us, on a relatively short time frame and for any reason. If a significant number of the 42West or The Door clients were to reduce the volume of business they conducted with us or terminate their relationships with us completely, this could have a material adverse effect upon our business and results of operations.  Viewpoint’s revenue is derived on a project by project basis.  Clients may decide to use other creative branding and production companies for their projects which would have an adverse effect upon our business and results of operations.

42West’s, The Door’s and Viewpoint’s ability to generate new business from new and existing clients may be limited.

To increase their revenues, 42West, The Door and Viewpoint need to obtain additional clients or generate demand for additional services from existing clients. 42West’s, The Door’s and Viewpoint’s ability to generate initial demand for its services from new clients and additional demand from existing clients is subject to such clients’ and potential clients’ needs, trends in the entertainment industry, financial conditions, strategic plans and internal resources of corporate clients, as well as the quality of 42West’s, The Door’s and Viewpoint’s employees, services and reputation. To the extent 42West, The Door and Viewpoint cannot generate new business from new or existing clients due to these limitations, their ability to grow their respective businesses, and our ability to increase our revenues, will be limited.

Revenues from our Entertainment Publicity and Marketing segment are susceptible to declines as a result of unfavorable economic conditions.

Economic downturns often severely affect the marketing services industry. Some of our corporate clients may respond to weak economic performance by reducing their marketing budgets, which are generally discretionary in nature and easier to reduce in the short-term than other expenses related to operations. In addition, economic downturns could lead to reduced public demand for varying forms of entertainment for which we are engaged to provide public relations and media strategy and promotional services. Such reduced demand for our services could have a material adverse effect on our revenues and results of operations.

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Content Production Business

Our content production business requires a substantial investment of capital, and failure to access sufficient capital while awaiting delayed revenues will have a material adverse effect on our results of operation.

The production, acquisition and distribution of film or digital media content require significant capital. The budget for the projects we intend to produce will each require between $6 and $8 million to produce. In addition, if a distributor does not provide the funds for the distribution and marketing of our film, we will require additional capital to distribute and market the film. We estimate that distribution and marketing fees will be approximately $10,000 per theatrical screen. A significant amount of time may elapse between our expenditure of funds and the receipt of revenues from our productions. Our content production business does not have a traditional credit facility with a financial institution on which to depend for our liquidity needs, and a time lapse may require us to fund a significant portion of our capital requirements through loans and additional issuances of our common stock, securities convertible into our common stock, debt securities or a combination of such financing alternatives, as well as transactions with our Chief Executive Officer. There can be no assurance that any additional financing will be available to us as and when required, or on terms that will be acceptable to us. Our inability to raise capital necessary to sustain our operations while awaiting delayed revenues would have a material adverse effect on our liquidity and results of operations.

Our success is highly dependent on audience acceptance of our films and digital media productions, which is extremely difficult to predict and, therefore, inherently risky.

We cannot predict the economic success of any of our films because the revenue derived from the distribution of a film (which does not necessarily directly correlate with the production or distribution costs incurred) depends primarily upon its acceptance by the public, which cannot be accurately predicted. The economic success of a film also depends upon the public’s acceptance of competing films, the availability of alternative forms of entertainment and leisure-time activities, general economic conditions and other tangible and intangible factors, all of which can change and cannot be predicted with certainty.

The economic success of a film is largely determined by our ability to produce content and develop stories and characters that appeal to a broad audience and by the effective marketing of the film. The theatrical performance of a film is a key factor in predicting revenue from post-theatrical markets. If we are unable to accurately judge audience acceptance of our film content or to have the film effectively marketed, the commercial success of the film will be in doubt, which could result in costs not being recouped or anticipated profits not being realized. Moreover, we cannot assure you that any particular feature film will generate enough revenue to offset its distribution, fulfillment services and marketing costs, in which case we would not receive any revenues for such film from our distributors.

In addition, changing consumer tastes affect our ability to predict which digital media productions will be popular with web audiences. As we invest in various digital projects, stars and directors, it is highly likely that at least some of the digital projects in which we invest will not appeal to our target audiences. If we are unable to produce web content that appeals to our target audiences the costs of such digital media productions could exceed revenues generated and anticipated profits may not be realized. Our failure to realize anticipated profits could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

We have in the past and may, in the future, incur significant write-offs if our feature films and other projects do not perform well enough to recoup production, marketing, distribution and other costs.

We are required to amortize capitalized production costs over the expected revenue streams as we recognize revenue from our films or other projects. The amount of production costs that will be amortized each quarter depends on, among other things, how much future revenue we expect to receive from each project. Unamortized production costs are evaluated for impairment when events or circumstances indicate that the carrying value of the capitalized production costs may be below their fair value. If estimated remaining revenue is not sufficient to recover the unamortized production costs, the unamortized production costs will be written down to fair value. In any given quarter, if we lower our previous forecast with respect to total anticipated revenue from any individual feature film or other project, we may be required to accelerate amortization or record impairment charges with respect to the unamortized costs, even if we have previously recorded impairment charges for such film or other project. For example, in 2016, we recorded a $2 million impairment of the capitalized production costs for our feature film, Max Steel.  In addition, certain GAAP guidance requires us to impair costs that have been capitalized for projects that are not set for production within three years of capitalizing the cost.  In 2018, we impaired the cost of a script in the amount of $0.2 million based on this guidance.  Such impairment charges have had, and in the future could have, a material adverse impact on our business, operating results and financial condition.

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Our content production business is substantially dependent upon the success of a limited number of film releases and digital media productions, if any, in any given year and our inability to release any film or digital media productions or the unexpected delay or commercial failure of any one of them could have a material adverse effect on our financial results and cash flows.

Our content production business is currently substantially dependent upon the success of a limited number of film releases and digital media productions in any given year. The unexpected delay in release or commercial failure of just one of these films or digital media productions, or our inability to release any productions at all, could have a significant adverse impact on our results of operations and cash flows in both the year of release and in the future. Historically, feature films that are successful in the domestic theatrical market are generally also successful in the international theatrical and ancillary markets, although each film is different and there is no way to guarantee such results. If our films fail to achieve domestic box office success, their success in the international box office and ancillary markets and our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected. Further, we can make no assurances that the historical correlation between results in the domestic box office and results in the international box office and ancillary markets will continue in the future. If we are unable to release any film or digital media productions in a given year, or if the feature films we release do not perform well in the domestic or international theatrical markets and ancillary markets, or our digital media productions do not perform as anticipated, the failure to release any productions, or the failure of any one of the productions we release, could a material adverse effect on our financial results and cash flows.

Delays, cost overruns, cancellation or abandonment of the completion or release of our web series or films may have an adverse effect on our business.

There are substantial financial risks relating to production, completion and release of web series and feature films. Actual costs may exceed their budgets due to factors such as labor disputes, unavailability of a star performer, equipment shortages, disputes with production teams or adverse weather conditions, any of which may cause cost overruns and delay or hamper film completion. We are typically responsible for paying all production costs in accordance with a budget and receive a fixed producer’s fee for our services plus a portion of any project income. However, to the extent that delays or cost overruns result in us not completing the web series or film within budget, there may not be enough funds left to pay us our producer’s fee, to generate any project income or complete the project at all. If this were to occur, it would significantly and adversely affect our revenue and results of operations.

We rely on third party distributors to distribute our films and their failure to perform or promote our films could negatively impact our ability to generate revenues and have a material adverse effect on our operating results.

Our films are primarily distributed and marketed by third party distributors. If any of these third-party distributors fails to perform under their respective arrangements, such failure could negatively impact the success of our films and have a material adverse effect on our business, reputation and ability to generate revenues.

We generally do not control the timing and manner in which our distributors distribute our films; their decisions regarding the timing of release and promotional support are important in determining success. Any decision by those distributors not to distribute or promote one of our films or to promote our competitors’ films or related products to a greater extent than they promote ours could have a material adverse effect on our business, cash flows and operating results.  Additionally, because third parties are the principal distributors of our movies, the amount of revenue that is recognized from films in any given period is dependent on the timing, accuracy and sufficiency of the information received from our distributors. As is typical in the film industry, our distributors may make adjustments in future periods to information previously provided to us that could have a material impact on our operating results in later periods. In 2018, our domestic distributor of Max Steel, Open Road Films, LLC (“Open Road”) filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11.  The assets of Open Road were purchased by Raven Capital Management (“Raven Capital”) which now has the rights to distribute the film under the same arrangements as Open Road.  There is no guaranty that Raven Capital will be successful in distributing Max Steel.

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We rely on third party relationships with online digital platforms for our advertising revenue and we may be unable to secure such relationships.

We anticipate entering into distribution agreements containing revenue share provisions with online digital platforms to distribute our digital media productions. Pursuant to these revenue share provisions, we will earn a portion of advertising revenues once our digital media productions are distributed online. If we fail to secure such relationships with online digital platforms, we will not be able to earn advertising revenues from our digital projects, which could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity and results of operations. In addition, some of our distributors have moved from an advertisement-based model to a subscription-based model which makes it more difficult for us to use our funding and distribution methods.

We may be unable to attract or retain advertisers, which could negatively impact our results of operation.

Typically, online digital platforms are responsible for securing advertisers and, as such, our ability to earn advertising revenues would depend on their success in doing so. However, at times we have, and may continue to, proactively secure advertising commitments against anticipated web series. Our ability to retain advertisers is contingent on our ability to successfully complete and deliver online projects which are commercially successful, which we may fail to do. Advertising revenues could also be adversely impacted by factors outside our control such as failure of our digital media productions to attract our target viewer audiences, lack of future demand for our digital media productions, the inability of third party online digital platforms to deliver ads in an effective manner, competition for advertising revenue from existing competitors or new digital media companies, declines in advertising rates, adverse legal developments relating to online advertising, including legislative and regulatory developments and developments in litigation. For example, in 2017, we impaired the costs of a digital show in the amount of $0.3 million due to the inability to secure advertising for the show. The existence of any of these factors could result in a decrease of our anticipated advertising revenues.

Our success depends on the services of our Chief Executive Officer.

Our success greatly depends on the skills, experience and efforts of our Chief Executive Officer, Mr. O’Dowd. We do not have an employment agreement with Mr. O’Dowd. If Mr. O’Dowd resigns or becomes unable to continue in his present role and is not adequately replaced, the loss of his services could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results or financial condition.

The popularity and commercial success of our digital media productions and feature films are subject to numerous factors, over which we may have limited or no control.

The popularity and commercial success of our digital media productions and films depends on many factors including, but not limited to, the key talent involved, the timing of release, the promotion and marketing of the digital media production or film, the quality and acceptance of other competing productions released into the marketplace at or near the same time, the availability of alternative forms of entertainment, general economic conditions, the genre and specific subject matter of the digital media production or film, its critical acclaim and the breadth, timing and format of its initial release. We cannot predict the impact of such factors on any digital media production or film, and many are factors that are beyond our control. As a result of these factors and many others, our digital media productions and films may not be as successful as we anticipate, and as a result, our results of operations may suffer.

The creation of content for the entertainment industry is highly competitive and we will be competing with companies with much greater resources than we have.

The business in which we engage is highly competitive. Our content production business operations are subject to competition from companies which, in many instances, have greater development, production and distribution and capital resources than us. We compete for the services of writers, producers, directors, actors and other artists to produce our digital media and motion picture content, as well as for advertisement dollars. Larger companies have a broader and more diverse selection of scripts than we do, which translates to a greater probability that they will be able to more closely fit the demands and interests of advertisers than we can.

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As a small independent producer, we compete with major U.S. and international studios. Most of the major U.S. studios are part of large diversified corporate groups with a variety of other operations that can provide both the means of distributing their products and stable sources of earnings that may allow them better to offset fluctuations in the financial performance of their film and other 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, directors and other personnel required for production. Such competition for the industry’s talent and resources may negatively affect our ability to acquire, develop, produce, advertise and distribute digital media and motion picture content.

We must successfully respond to rapid technological changes and alternative forms of delivery or storage to remain competitive.

The entertainment industry continues to undergo significant developments as advances in technologies and new methods of product delivery and storage, and certain changes in consumer behavior driven by these developments emerge. New technologies affect the demand for our content, the manner in which our content is distributed to consumers, the sources and nature of competing content offerings and the time and manner in which consumers acquire and view our content. We and our distributors must adapt our businesses to shifting patterns of content consumption and changing consumer behavior and preferences through the adoption and exploitation of new technologies. If we cannot successfully exploit these and other emerging technologies, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, operating results, liquidity and prospects.

Our business may be affected by changes in consumer discretionary spending in the U.S. or internationally.

Our success depends on our ability to distribute or otherwise generate income from our current and future motion pictures and digital productions.  Our industry is subject to discretionary consumer spending, which is influenced by general economic conditions, consumer confidence and the availability of discretionary income. Changes in economic conditions affecting potential distributors or viewers of our motion pictures could reduce our ability to generate income from our motion pictures.  Furthermore, weak economic conditions and geopolitical and economic uncertainties in international regions and countries where our movie productions are distributed could lead to lower consumer spending for our content, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

 We have in the past and may, in the future, be adversely affected by union activity.

We retain the services of actors who are covered by collective bargaining agreements with Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, which we refer to as SAG-AFTRA, and we may also become signatories to certain guilds such as Directors Guild of America and Writers Guild of America in order to allow us to hire directors and talent for our productions. Collective bargaining agreements are industry-wide agreements, and we lack practical control over the negotiations and terms of these agreements. In addition, our digital projects fall within SAG-AFTRA’s definition of “new media”, which is an emerging category covered by its New Media and Interactive Media Agreements for actors. As such, our ability to retain actors is subject to uncertainties that arise from SAG-AFTRA’s administration of this relatively new category of collective bargaining agreements. Such uncertainties have resulted and may continue to result in delays in production of our digital projects.

In addition, if negotiations to renew expiring collective bargaining agreements are not successful or become unproductive, the union could take actions such as strikes, work slowdowns or work stoppages. Strikes, work slowdowns or work stoppages or the possibility of such actions could result in delays in production of our digital projects. We could also incur higher costs from such actions, new collective bargaining agreements or the renewal of collective bargaining agreements on less favorable terms. Depending on their duration, union activity or labor disputes could have an adverse effect on our results of operations.

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Others may assert intellectual property infringement claims or liability claims for digital media or film content against us which may force us to incur substantial legal expenses.

There is a possibility that others may claim that our productions and production techniques misappropriate or infringe the intellectual property rights of third parties with respect to their previously developed web series, films, stories, characters, other entertainment or intellectual property. In addition, as distributors of digital media and film content, we may face potential liability for such claims as defamation, invasion of privacy, negligence, copyright or trademark infringement or other claims based on the nature and content of the materials distributed. If successfully asserted, our insurance may not be adequate to cover any of the foregoing claims. Irrespective of the validity or the successful assertion of such claims, we could incur significant costs and diversion of resources in defending against them, which could have a material adverse effect on our operating results.

If we fail to protect our intellectual property and proprietary rights adequately, our business could be adversely affected.

Our ability to compete depends, in part, upon successful protection of our intellectual property. We attempt to protect proprietary and intellectual property rights to our productions through available copyright and trademark laws and distribution arrangements with companies for limited durations. Unauthorized parties may attempt to copy aspects of our intellectual property or to obtain and use property that we regard as proprietary. We cannot assure you that our means of protecting our proprietary rights will be adequate. In addition, the laws of some foreign countries do not protect our proprietary rights to as great an extent as the laws of the United States. Intellectual property protections may also be unavailable, limited or difficult to enforce in some countries, which could make it easier for competitors to steal our intellectual property. Our failure to protect adequately our intellectual property and proprietary rights could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Risks Related to Acquisitions

We are subject to risks associated with acquisitions and we may not realize the anticipated benefits of such acquisitions.

We have in the past completed acquisitions, and may in the future consummate additional acquisitions and otherwise engage in discussions and activities with respect to possible acquisitions, intended to complement or expand our business, some of which may be significant transactions for us. Identifying suitable acquisition candidates can be difficult, time-consuming and costly, and we may not be able to identify suitable candidates or complete acquisitions in a timely manner, on a cost-effective basis or at all.

Even if we complete an acquisition, we may not realize the anticipated benefits of such transaction. Our recent acquisitions have required, and any similar future transactions may also require, significant efforts and expenditures, including with respect to integrating the acquired business with our historical business. We may encounter unexpected difficulties, or incur unexpected costs, in connection with acquisition activities and integration efforts, including, without limitation:

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diversion of management attention from managing our historical core business;

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potential disruption of our historical core business or of the acquired business;

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the strain on, and need to continue to expand, our existing operational, technical, financial and administrative infrastructure;

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inability to achieve synergies as planned;

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challenges in controlling additional costs and expenses in connection with and as a result of the acquisition;

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dilution to existing shareholders from the issuance of equity securities;

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becoming subject to adverse tax consequences or substantial depreciation;

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difficulties in assimilating employees and corporate cultures or in integrating systems and controls;

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difficulties in anticipating and responding to actions that may be taken by competitors;

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difficulties in realizing the anticipated benefits of the transaction;

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inability to generate sufficient revenue from acquisitions to offset the associated acquisition costs;

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potential loss of key employees, key clients or other partners of the acquired business as a result of the change of ownership; and

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the assumption of and exposure to unknown or contingent liabilities of the acquired businesses.

If any of our acquisitions do not perform as anticipated for any of the reasons noted above or otherwise, there could be a negative impact on our results of operations and financial condition.

Any due diligence conducted by us in connection with potential future acquisition may not reveal all relevant considerations or liabilities of the target business, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.

We conduct such due diligence with respect to our acquisitions as we deem reasonably practicable and appropriate. The objective of the due diligence process is to identify material issues and liabilities that may affect the decision to proceed with any one particular acquisition target or the consideration payable for an acquisition. We also use information revealed during the due diligence process to formulate our business and operational planning for, and our valuation of, any target company or business. While conducting due diligence and assessing a potential acquisition, we may rely on publicly available information, if any, information provided by the relevant target company to the extent such company is willing or able to provide such information and, in some circumstances, third party investigations.

There can be no assurance that the due diligence undertaken with respect to an acquisition, will reveal all relevant facts that may be necessary to evaluate such acquisition including the determination of the price we may pay for an acquisition target or to formulate a business strategy. Furthermore, the information provided during due diligence may be incomplete, inadequate or inaccurate. As part of the due diligence process, we will also make subjective judgments regarding the results of operations, financial condition and prospects of a potential target. Our due diligence investigation of a particular acquisition target may not uncover all material issues and liabilities to which we may become subject. If our due diligence investigation fails to correctly identify material issues and liabilities that may be present in a target company or business, or if we consider such material risks to be commercially acceptable relative to the opportunity, and we proceed with an acquisition, we may subsequently incur substantial impairment charges or other losses.

In addition, following an acquisition, including those already completed, we may be subject to significant, previously undisclosed liabilities of the acquired business that were not identified during due diligence .Any such liabilities could contribute to poor operational performance, undermine any attempt to restructure the acquired company or business in line with our business plan and otherwise have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Losses incurred by us subsequent to completion of an acquisition may not be indemnifiable by the seller or may exceed the seller’s indemnification obligations.

As discussed above, there may be liabilities assumed in any acquisition that we did not discover or that we underestimated in the course of performing our due diligence. Although a seller generally will have indemnification obligations to us under an acquisition agreement, these obligations are usually subject to financial limitations, such as general deductibles and maximum recovery amounts, as well as time limitations. 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 losses that we incur with respect to a particular acquisition. Any such liabilities, individually or in the aggregate, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.

We recognized a goodwill impairment charge for the year ended December 31, 2018 and may be required to recognize additional goodwill and intangible asset impairment charges in the future.

We acquire other companies and intangible assets and may not realize all the economic benefit from those acquisitions, which could cause an impairment of goodwill or intangibles. We review amortizable intangible assets for impairment when events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable. We test goodwill for impairment at least annually. Events or changes indicating that the carrying value of our goodwill or amortizable intangible assets may not be recoverable include reduced future cash flow estimates, slower growth rates in industry segments in which we participate and a decline in our stock price and market capitalization. We may be required to record a significant charge in our consolidated financial statements during the period in which any impairment of our goodwill or amortizable intangible assets is determined, negatively affecting our results of operations.  For the year ended December 31, 2018, we recorded approximately $1.9 million in charges for the impairment of goodwill for, 42West based on a reduced cash flow estimate.

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Risks Related to our Common Stock and Preferred Stock

We have recently issued, and may in the future issue, a significant amount of equity securities and, as a result, your ownership interest in our company has been, and may in the future be, substantially diluted and your investment in our common stock could suffer a material decline in value.

From January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2018, the number of shares of our common stock issued and outstanding has increased from 7,197,761 to 14,123,157 shares. Warrants J and K were issued in 2016 in exchange for debt, and to purchase the remaining membership interests in Dolphin Kids Club, and were exercised during 2017 for an aggregate of 1,170,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.03 per share. On April 13, 2017, the holder of Warrant E notified us that they would be partially exercising Warrant E, using the cashless exercise option pursuant to the warrant agreement, and was issued 162,885 shares of our common stock. As consideration for our 42West, The Door and Viewpoint acquisitions, we have issued approximately 2,254,135 shares of our common stock and will issue an additional 978,236 shares of our common stock to the sellers of 42West for the earn out (net of indemnifications) that was earned in 2017.  We will issue 307,692 shares as a second installment to the sellers of The Door and 26,821 for the working capital adjustment.  Furthermore, we may issue up to 1,538,462 shares of our common stock to the sellers of The Door if the applicable earn out financial target is achieved in the following three years.  During the year ended December 31, 2018, we issued 6,140 shares of common stock as payment for certain consulting fees rendered. On June 29, 2018, we issued 85,299 shares of our common stock pursuant to a convertible promissory note that was converted.  As of December 31, 2018, we had outstanding convertible promissory notes in the aggregate principal amount of $625,000, which are currently convertible into 444,664 shares of our common stock (calculated based on the 90-trading day average price per share as of March 19, 2019) and a convertible note in the amount of $1.5 million that is convertible into 655,022 shares of our common stock. On December 26, 2017, we issued 1,215,000 units, each consisting of one share of common stock and one warrant to purchase a share of common stock at $4.74 per share (the “Unit”). These Units were sold for a purchase price of $4.13 per Unit. In addition, in connection with the offering, we issued to the underwriters 86,503 underwriter warrants, and an additional, 20,750 shares of common stock and 175,750 warrants to purchase shares of common stock upon exercise of their over-allotment option.  On June 24, 2018, we issued 2,000,000 shares of our common stock in a public offering.  The underwriter exercised its over-allotment option on August 22, 2018, and we issued 265,000 shares of our common stock.  On September 25, 2018, we sold 250,000 shares of our common stock in a registered direct offering.   As a result of these past issuances and potential future issuances, your ownership interest in the Company has been, and may in the future be, substantially diluted.

The market price for our common stock has been volatile, and these issuances could cause the price of our common stock to continue to fluctuate substantially. In addition, we have historically experienced significantly low trading volume. Once restricted stock issued in either private placements or to the sellers of the companies we acquired becomes freely tradable, these shareholders may decide to sell their shares of common stock and, if our stock is thinly traded, this could have a material adverse effect on its market price.

We currently have an effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3 filed with the SEC under which we may offer from time to time any combination of common, warrants and units. In the near term, we will need to raise additional capital and may seek to do so by selling additional securities under the shelf registration statement, conducting one or more private placements of equity securities, securities convertible into equity securities or debt securities, or through a combination of one or more of such financing alternatives. Such issuances of additional securities would further dilute the equity interests of our existing shareholders, perhaps substantially, and may further exacerbate any or all of the above risks.

The Series C Convertible Preferred Stock has anti-dilution protections and super voting rights that may adversely affect our shareholders.

For a period of five years from March 7, 2016, the date of issuance, the Series C Convertible Preferred Stock, which are all held by Mr. O’Dowd, will have certain anti-dilution protections. Upon triggers specified in the Series C Certificate of Designation, the number of shares of common stock into which Series C Convertible Preferred Stock held by Mr. O’Dowd (or any entity directly or indirectly controlled by Mr. O’Dowd) can be converted will be increased, such that the total number of shares of common stock held by Mr. O’Dowd (or any entity directly or indirectly controlled by Mr. O’Dowd) (based on the number of shares of common stock held as of the date of issuance) will be preserved at the same percentage of shares of common stock outstanding held by such persons on such date. As a result, your ownership interests may be further diluted.

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Except as required by law, holders of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock will only have voting rights once the independent directors of the Board determine that an optional conversion threshold (as defined in the Series C Certificate of Designation) has occurred. Upon such determination by the Board, a holder of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock (Mr. O’Dowd) will be entitled to super voting rights of three votes for each share of common stock into which such holder’s shares of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock could then be converted. Holders of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock will be entitled to vote together as a single class on all matters upon which common stock holders are entitled to vote. Your voting rights will be diluted as a result of these super voting rights. In addition, the anti-dilution protections may result in an increase in the number of shares of common stock into which Series C Convertible Preferred Stock held by Mr. O’Dowd and certain eligible persons can be converted, which could further dilute your percentage of voting rights.

If we are unable to maintain compliance with Nasdaq listing requirements, our stock could be delisted, and the trading price, volume and marketability of our stock could be adversely affected.

Our common stock and certain of our warrants are listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market. We cannot assure you, that we will be able to maintain compliance with Nasdaq’s current listing standards, or that Nasdaq will not implement additional listing standards with which we will be unable to comply. Failure to maintain compliance with Nasdaq listing requirements could result in the delisting of our shares from Nasdaq, which could have a material adverse effect on the trading price, volume and marketability of our common stock.  Furthermore, a delisting could adversely affect our ability to issue additional securities and obtain additional financing in the future or result in a loss of confidence by investors or employees.

Certain outstanding warrants have ratchet price protection and the exercise price may be reduced if we issue equity instruments below the current exercise price, which would result in the immediate dilution of your investment.

As of December 31, 2018, we had outstanding 1,250,000 warrants to purchase shares of our common stock which contain full ratchet anti-dilution price protection. This generally means that if we issue certain additional securities while the warrants are outstanding at a price or with an exercise price less than the then current exercise price of the warrants, the exercise price of those warrants would be reduced to this lower sale price or exercise price. The warrants were initially exercisable at $10.00 to $14.00 per share. The initial exercise price of the warrants has been reset to $2.29 per share in connection with the acquisition of Viewpoint. 1,000,000 of the warrants expired on January 31, 2019, and 250,000 warrants expire January 31, 2020.  To the extent that these anti-dilution provisions are triggered as a result of future offerings, we would be required to further reduce the exercise price of the warrants, which would have a dilutive effect on our shareholders.

Accounting for the put rights and contingent consideration could cause variability in the results we report.

In connection with the 42West acquisition, we granted put rights to the sellers to cause us to purchase up to an aggregate of 1,187,087 (including the shares from the earn out consideration) of their shares of common stock received as consideration for a purchase price equal to $9.22 per share during certain specified exercise periods set forth in the put agreements up until December 2020. As of the date of this report, the sellers have exercised an aggregate of 656,717 shares of common stock pursuant to the put rights. We have also purchased 120,451 shares of common stock and may purchase up to an additional 20,246 shares of common stock, at a purchase price of $9.22, from certain 42West employees with change of control provisions in their employment agreements, who received shares of our common stock at the time of the 42West acquisition and will receive additional shares in 2019 related to the earn out consideration. The sellers of The Door may also earn up to 1,538,462 shares of common stock if certain financial targets are achieved over a four-year period.  The put rights are an embedded equity derivative within our common stock requiring certain fair value measurements at each reporting period. We record the fair value of the put right liability and the contingent consideration liability in the consolidated balance sheets and we record changes to the liability against earnings or loss in the consolidated statements of operations. The put rights and contingent consideration are inherently difficult to value. We could have substantial variability in the related periodic fair value measurements, which would affect our operating results and in turn could impact our stock price.

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

As of the date of this report, we do not own any real property. For our content production business, we lease 3,332 square feet of office space located at 2151 Le Jeune Road, Suite 150-Mezzanine, Coral Gables, Florida 33134, at a monthly rate of $8,580.  The lease expires on May 31, 2019.  On February 19, 2019, we entered into a 62-month lease for 3,024 Square feet of office space located at 150 Alhambra Circle, Suite 1200, Coral Gables, Florida 33134.  The lease will commence once the tenant improvements are complete (subject to certain deadlines that must be met).  The monthly lease payments are $9,954, with annual increases of 3%.  The lease also provides for four months of abatement once the property becomes available for use.

 In 2012, we opened an additional office located at 10866 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 800, Los Angeles, California 90024 and currently lease 4,582 square feet of office space at a monthly rate of $13,746 with annual increases of 3% for years 1 to 3 and 3.5% for the remainder of the lease. On June 1, 2017, we entered into an agreement to sublease our office in Los Angeles and, consequently, no longer use this office space for our operations. The sublease agreement is through July 31, 2019 at an initial monthly rate of $14,892. Commencing on the thirteenth month of the sublease, the monthly lease rate will increase by 3%. Pursuant to the sublease agreement, the subtenant took ownership of the furniture in the premises.

For our entertainment publicity and marketing business, we lease the following office space: (i)12,505 square feet located at 600 Third Avenue, 23rd Floor, New York, NY 10016, at a monthly rate of $67,735 with increases every three years; (ii) 5,000 square feet located at 37West 17^th Street, 5^th Floor, New York, NY 10010 at a monthly rent of $16,912 with a 2.5% annual increase an expiring in August of 2020; (iii) two office suites located at 1460 West Chicago Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60642 at a monthly rate of $2,200 and expiring on May 31, 2020; (iv) 12,139 square feet of office space at 1840 Century Park East, Suite 700, Los Angeles, CA 90067 at a base rate of $36,417 (commencing on February 1, 2014), with annual increases of 3% per year and (v) 12,376 square feet located at 55 Chapel Street, Newton, MA 02458 at a current monthly rate of $23,656 with annual increases of 3% and expiring on March 31, 2021.  We believe our current facilities are adequate for our operations for the foreseeable future.

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

 We are involved in various legal proceedings relating to claims arising in the ordinary course of business. We do not currently believe that the ultimate resolution of these matters will have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.

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 and Holders of our Common Stock

Our common stock trades on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “DLPN”.

As of March 21, 2019, there were approximately 337 shareholders of record, of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock based on information provided by our transfer agent.

Company Purchases of Equity Securities

The following table presents information related to our repurchases of our shares of common stock during the quarter ended December 31, 2018:

———————

⁽¹⁾

Pursuant to the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in put agreements, entered into with the sellers of 42West, certain of such sellers exercised their put rights and caused us to purchase 74,566 shares of common stock for an aggregate amount of $687,500 of which $375,000 was paid in January 2019. See Note 4 — Acquisitions to our audited consolidated financial statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further discussion of these put agreements.

ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

Not required for smaller reporting companies.

ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our audited historical consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto, which are included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 ( this“2018 Form 10-K”). The following discussion includes forward-looking statements that involve certain risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, those described in Item 1A. Risk Factors in this 2018 Form 10-K. Our actual results may differ materially from those discussed below. See “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and Item 1A. Risk Factors, in each case contained in this 2018 Form 10-K.

OVERVIEW

We are a leading independent entertainment marketing and premium content development company. We were first incorporated in the State of Nevada on March 7, 1995 and domesticated in the State of Florida on December 4, 2014.  Our common stock trades on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “DLPN”.

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Through our subsidiaries 42West and The Door, we provide expert strategic marketing and publicity services to many of the top brands, both individual and corporate, in the entertainment and hospitality industries.  The Door and 42West are both recognized global leaders in PR services for the respective industries they serve.  Our recent acquisition of Viewpoint has added full-service creative branding and production capabilities to our marketing group.  Our content production business is a long-established leading independent producer, committed to distributing film and digital entertainment primarily aimed at family and young adult markets. The strategic acquisitions of 42West, The Door and Viewpoint bring together industry-leading marketing services with our legacy content production business, creating significant opportunities to serve our respective constituents more strategically and to grow and diversify our revenue streams.

On October 31, 2018, referred to as the Viewpoint Closing Date, we acquired all of the issued and outstanding capital stock of Viewpoint, a Massachusetts corporation. Viewpoint is a full-service creative branding and production house that has earned a reputation as one of the top producers of promotional and brand-support videos for a wide variety of leading cable networks, media companies and consumer-product brands.

We agreed to pay an aggregate purchase price of $2 million for Viewpoint, before adjustments, comprising (i) $750,000 in cash paid to the sellers on the Viewpoint Closing Date (as adjusted for Viewpoint’s indebtedness, working capital and cash targets, and transaction expenses); (ii) $500,000 in shares of our common stock based on a price, per share of $2.29, issued to the sellers on the Viewpoint Closing Date and (iii) an additional $750,000 in cash in three equal payments of $250,000 to be paid to the sellers on the six, twelfth and eighteen-month anniversaries of the Viewpoint Closing Date (subject to a right of setoff for certain adjustments and indemnification obligations).  In connection with the acquisition of Viewpoint, we acquired intangible assets of approximately $0.5 million and goodwill of $1.1 million.  

On July 5, 2018, referred to as The Door Closing Date, we entered into an agreement and plan of merger, referred to as the Merger Agreement, together with Lois O’Neill and Charles Dougiello, collectively referred to as the Members, pursuant to which we acquired The Door. The Door is an entertainment public relations agency, offering talent publicity, strategic communications and entertainment content marketing. Following its acquisition, The Door became a part of our entertainment publicity segment.

 The total consideration payable to the Members in respect of the acquisition of The Door comprises:(i) $2.0 million in shares of our common stock based on a price of $3.25 per share, (ii) $2.0 million in cash (as adjusted for certain working capital and closing adjustments and transaction expenses) and (iii) up to an additional $7.0 million of contingent consideration in a combination of cash and shares of common stock upon the achievement of specified financial performance targets over a four-year period as set forth in the Merger Agreement. On the Door Closing Date, we issued to the Members an aggregate of $1.0 million in shares of common stock and paid the Members an aggregate of $1.0 million in cash. Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, we issued to the Members an additional $1.0 million in shares of common stock and paid to the Members $1.0 million in cash on January 2, 2019.

We have established an acquisition strategy based on identifying and acquiring companies that complement our existing entertainment publicity and marketing services and content production businesses. We believe that complementary businesses, such as data analytics and digital marketing, can create synergistic opportunities and bolster profits and cash flow. We have identified potential acquisition targets and are in various stages of discussion with such targets. We intend to complete at least one acquisition during 2019, but there is no assurance that we will be successful in doing so, whether in 2019 or at all. We currently intend to fund any acquisitions through loans or additional issuances of our common stock, securities convertible into our common stock, debt securities or a combination of such financing alternatives; however, there can be no assurance that we will be successful in raising the capital necessary to consummate any acquisitions, whether on favorable terms or at all.

We operate in two reportable segments:  our entertainment publicity and marketing segment and our content production segment. The entertainment publicity and marketing segment comprises 42West, The Door and Viewpoint and provides clients with diversified services, including public relations, entertainment content marketing, strategic marketing consulting, creative branding and in-house production of content for marketing. The content production segment comprises Dolphin Films and Dolphin Digital Studios and specializes in the production and distribution of digital content and feature films.

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Going Concern

In the audit opinion for our financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2018, our independent auditors included an explanatory paragraph expressing substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern based upon our accumulated deficit as of December 31, 2018 and our level of working capital. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of these uncertainties. Management is planning to raise any necessary additional funds through loans and additional sales of our common stock, securities convertible into our common stock, debt securities or a combination of such financing alternatives; however, there can be no assurance that we will be successful in raising any necessary additional capital or securing loans. Such issuances of additional securities would further dilute the equity interests of our existing shareholders, perhaps substantially. With the acquisitions of 42West, The Door and Viewpoint, we are currently exploring opportunities to expand the services currently being offered by them to the entertainment and hospitality community. In addition, we are exploring ways to reduce expenses by identifying certain costs that can be combined, for example, consolidating certain “back office” functions such as human resources.  There can be no assurance that we will be successful in selling these services to clients or reducing expenses.

REVENUES

For the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, we derived the majority of our revenues from our entertainment publicity and marketing segment. The entertainment publicity and marketing segment derives its revenues from providing public relations services for celebrities, entertainment and targeted content marketing for film and television series, strategic communications services for corporations and public relations, marketing services and brand strategies for hotels and restaurants.  We additionally derived revenues from the content production segment primarily from the domestic and international distribution of our feature film, Max Steel.  For the year ended December 31, 2018, we also derived revenues from the domestic distribution of Believe. The table below sets forth the percentage of total revenue derived from our two segments for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017:

Entertainment Publicity and Marketing

Our revenue is directly impacted by the retention and spending levels of existing clients and by our ability to win new clients. We believe that we currently have a stable client base, and we have continued to grow organically through referrals and actively soliciting new business as well as through acquisition of new businesses within the same industry. We earn revenues primarily from the following sources: (i) celebrity talent services; (ii) content marketing services under multiyear master service agreements in exchange for fixed project-based fees; (iii) numerous individual engagements for entertainment content marketing services for durations of generally between three and six months; (iv) strategic communications services; (v) engagements for marketing of special events such as food and wine festivals and (vi) content productions of marketing materials on a project contract basis. For these revenue streams, we collect fees through either fixed fee monthly retainer agreements or project-based fees.  As previously reported, in June 2018, three of 42West’s senior publicists and their related staff left the firm to form their own company. Their departures resulted in a decrease in revenues of approximately $3.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2018, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2017. We took immediate action to address the departures and have hired, and are continuing to hire, additional senior publicists with existing books of business and talent rosters that we believe will be accretive to our revenues and profits.

We earn entertainment publicity and marketing revenues primarily through the following:

·

Talent – We earn fees from creating and implementing strategic communication campaigns for performers and entertainers, including Oscar and Emmy winning film and television stars, directors, producers, celebrity chefs and Grammy nominated recording artists. Our services in this area include ongoing strategic counsel, media relations, studio and/or network liaison work, and event and tour support.

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·

Entertainment Marketing and Brand Strategy– We earn fees from providing marketing direction, public relations counsel and media strategy for entertainment content (including theatrical films, television programs, DVD and VOD releases, and online series) from all the major studios, as well as content producers ranging from individual filmmakers and creative artists to production companies, film financiers, DVD distributors, and other entities. In addition, we provide entertainment marketing services in connection with film festivals, food and wine festivals, awards campaigns, event publicity and red-carpet management. As part of our services we offer marketing and publicity services tailored to reach diverse audiences. We also provide marketing direction targeted to the ideal consumer through a creative public relations and creative brand strategy for hotel and restaurant groups. Our clients for this type of service include major studios, independent producers for whom we create targeted multicultural marketing campaigns and leading hotel and restaurant groups.

We expect that increased digital streaming marketing budgets at several large key clients will drive growth of revenue and profit in 42West’s Entertainment Marketing division over the next several years.

·

Strategic Communications – We earn fees by advising companies looking to create, raise or reposition their public profiles, primarily in the entertainment industry. We believe that growth in 42West’s Strategic Communications division will be driven by increasing demand for these services by traditional and non-traditional media clients who are expanding their activities in the content production, branding, and consumer products PR sectors. We expect that this growth trend will continue for the next three to five years. We also help studios and filmmakers deal with controversial movies, as well as high-profile individuals address sensitive situations.

·

  Creative Branding and Production – We offer clients creative branding and production services from concept creation to final delivery.  Our services include brand strategy, concept and creative development, design and art direction, script and copyrighting, live action production and photography, digital development, video editing and composite, animation, audio mixing and engineering, project management and technical support.  We expect that our ability to offer these services to our existing clients in the entertainment and hospitality industries will be accretive to our revenue.

Content Production

Dolphin Films

For the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, we derived revenues from Dolphin Films primarily through the domestic and international distribution of our motion picture, Max Steel.  For the year ended December 31, 2018, we also derived revenues from the domestic distribution of Believe.  

The production of the motion picture, Max Steel, was completed during 2015 and released in the United States on October 14, 2016. The motion picture did not perform as well as expected domestically, but we secured approximately $8.2 million in international distribution agreements prior to its release. As part of our domestic distribution arrangement, we still have the ability to derive revenues from the ancillary markets described below, although the amount of revenue derived from such channels is typically commensurate with the performance of the film in the domestic box office.

We earn motion picture revenues through the following:

·

Theatrical – We earn theatrical revenues from the domestic theatrical release of motion pictures licensed to a U.S. theatrical distributor that has agreements with theatrical exhibitors. The financial terms negotiated with the Max Steel and Believe U.S. theatrical distributor provided that we receive a percentage of the box office results, after related distribution fees.

·

International – We earn international revenues through license agreements with international distributors to distribute our motion pictures in an agreed upon territory for an agreed upon time. Several of the international distribution agreements related to Max Steel were contingent on a domestic wide release that occurred on October 14, 2016.

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·

Other – We earn additional revenues through Dolphin Films’ U.S. theatrical distributor which has existing output arrangements for the distribution of productions to home entertainment, video-on-demand, or VOD, pay-per-view, or PPV, electronic-sell-through, or EST, SVOD and free and pay television markets. The revenues expected to be derived from these channels are based on the performance of the motion picture in the domestic box office. For the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, the majority of revenues from Max Steel were derived from these channels.  

Our ability to receive additional revenues from Max Steel depends on our ability to repay our loans under our production service agreement and prints and advertising loan agreement from the profits of Max Steel. Max Steel did not generate sufficient funds to repay either of these loans prior to the applicable maturity dates. As a result, if the lenders foreclose on the collateral securing the loans, our subsidiary and the Max Steel VIE will lose the copyright for Max Steel and, consequently, will no longer receive any revenues from Max Steel. In addition, we would impair the entire capitalized production costs of Max Steel included as an asset on our balance sheet, which as of December 31, 2018, was $0.6 million. We are not parties to either of these loan agreements and have not guaranteed to the lenders any of the amounts outstanding under these loans, but we have provided a $620,000 backstop to the guarantor of the prints and advertising loan. For a discussion of the terms of such agreements and the $620,000 backstop, see “Liquidity and Capital Resources” below.

Project Development and Related Services

We have a team that dedicates a portion of its time to sourcing scripts for future development. The scripts can be for either digital or motion picture productions. We have acquired the rights to certain scripts that we intend to produce and release in the future, subject to obtaining financing.  We have not yet determined if these projects would be produced for digital or theatrical distribution.

Our pipeline of feature films includes:

·

Youngblood, an updated version of the 1986 hockey classic;

·

Out of Their League, a romantic comedy pitting husband versus wife in the cut-throat world of fantasy football; and

·

Ask Me, a teen comedy in which a high-school student starts a business to help her classmates create elaborate “promposals”.

We have completed development of each of these feature films, which means that we have completed the script and can begin pre-production once financing is obtained. We are planning to fund these projects through loans or additional sales of our common stock, securities convertible into our common stock, debt securities or a combination of such financing alternatives; however, there can be no assurance that we will be successful in raising any necessary capital. There is no assurance that we will be able to obtain the financing necessary to produce these feature films.

EXPENSES

Our expenses consist primarily of: (1) direct costs; (2) selling, general and administrative expenses; (3) depreciation and amortization; (4) payroll expenses; and (5) legal and professional fees. For the year ended December 31, 2018, we also had goodwill impairment of approximately $1.9 million and for the year ended December 31, 2017, we had distribution and marketing expenses of $1.1 million.

Direct costs include certain cost of services, as well as certain production costs, related to our entertainment publicity and marketing business.   Direct costs also include amortization of deferred production costs, impairment of deferred production costs, residuals and other costs associated with our content production business. Residuals represent amounts payable to various unions or “guilds” such as the Screen Actors Guild, Directors Guild of America, and Writers Guild of America, based on the performance of the motion picture and digital productions in certain ancillary markets. Included within direct costs are immaterial impairments for any of our projects. Capitalized production costs are recorded at the lower of their cost, less accumulated amortization and tax incentives, or fair value. If estimated remaining revenue is not sufficient to recover the unamortized capitalized production costs for that title, the unamortized capitalized production costs will be written down to fair value.

Selling, general and administrative expenses include all overhead costs except for payroll, depreciation and amortization and legal and professional fees that are reported as a separate expense item.

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Depreciation and amortization include the depreciation of our property, equipment and leasehold improvements and amortization of intangible assets, including the favorable lease asset.

Legal and professional fees include fees paid to our attorneys, fees for investor relations consultants, audit and accounting fees and fees for general business consultants.

Payroll expenses include wages, payroll taxes and employee benefits.

Distribution and marketing expenses include the costs of distribution fees and of DVD/Blu-ray duplication. Distribution fees consist of the percentage of revenues paid to the domestic distributor to release our motion picture. DVD/Blu-ray duplication represents the cost of the DVD/Blu-ray product and the manufacturing costs associated with creating the physical products.

Other Income and Expenses

For the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, other income and expenses consisted primarily of: (1) gain or loss on extinguishment of debt; (2) acquisition costs; (3) changes in the fair value of put rights; (4) changes in fair value of contingent consideration and (5) interest expense.  Loss on disposal of furniture, office equipment and leasehold improvements and change in fair value of warrant liability were also included for the year ended December 31, 2017.

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Year ended December 31, 2018 as compared to year ended December 31, 2017

Revenues

For the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, our revenues were as follows:

Revenues from entertainment publicity and marketing increased by approximately $5.5 million, for the year ended December 31, 2018 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2017. The increase was due to six months of revenues of The Door (acquired July 5, 2018), two months of revenues of Viewpoint (acquired October 31, 2018) and a full year of revenues from 42West, partially offset by a decrease in the revenues of 42West caused by the departure of several publicists in June of 2018.  Revenues from entertainment publicity and marketing for the year ended December 31, 2017 comprised revenues of 42West for nine months.  

Revenues from content production decreased by $5.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2018 as compared to the year ended December 31 2017, primarily due to the normal revenue cycle of our motion picture Max Steel. The majority of the revenues of a motion picture are recognized in the first twelve months following the release of the film. Max Steel was released on October 14, 2016, and we have already recognized the revenues from the theatrical release, a majority of home entertainment (i.e. DVD) and from international licensing arrangements. We continue to record revenues, to a lesser extent, from home entertainment, and from pay and free TV in the domestic market. For the year ended December 31, 2018, we also recorded $0.2 million of revenues from domestic ancillary markets, related to our motion picture Believe that was released in December of 2013.

On September 4, 2018, our domestic distributor, Open Road, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The assets of Open Road were sold on December 21, 2018 to Raven Capital, with the final deal closing in February 2019.  We expect that our domestic distribution agreements for Max Steel and Believe, which were purchased in the sale of the assets of Open Road, will continue on the same terms as agreed upon with Open Road.   

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Expenses

For the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, our operating expenses were as follows:

Overall expenses increased by approximately $3.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2018, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2017. The increase is primarily due to (i) six months of expenses for The Door, which we acquired on July 5, 2018 and (ii) two months of expenses for Viewpoint, which we acquired on October 31, 2018 and (iii) a full year of expenses for 42West.  For the year ended December 31, 2017, we included expenses for 42West from the date of acquisition, which was March 30, 2017.

Direct costs decreased by approximately $2.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2018, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2017.  Direct costs related to the entertainment publicity and marketing segment were approximately $1.6 million in 2018, as compared to $0.9 million in 2017.  The increase was primarily due to the direct costs associated with the operations of The Door and Viewpoint from the dates of acquisition and a full year of direct costs for 42West.  Entertainment publicity and marketing direct costs for 2017 were composed only of nine months of expenses for 42West.

Direct costs related to the content production segment were approximately $0.6 million for 2018, as compared to $3.8 million for 2017.  Direct costs for the content production segment consisted primarily of (i) amortization of capitalized production costs and (ii) impairment of capitalized production costs.  Capitalized production costs are amortized based on revenues recorded during the period over the estimated ultimate revenues of the film. Since Max Steel was released in October of 2016, revenues from the feature film were higher during 2017 as compared to 2018. As a result, we amortized $3.5 million of capitalized production costs during 2017 as compared to $0.2 million during 2018. In addition, we impaired approximately $0.3 million of capitalized production costs related to a digital series during 2017 as compared to $0.2 million of script costs during 2018.

Distribution and marketing expenses decreased by approximately $1.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2018, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2017, primarily due to distributor fees and residuals related to the domestic distribution of Max Steel during 2017 that are based on a percentage of the revenues generated.

Selling, general and administrative expenses increased by approximately $1.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2018, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2017.  Selling, general and administrative expenses for the entertainment publicity and marketing segment increased by approximately $1.3 million from $2.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2017 to $3.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2018.  The increase was directly related to including selling, general and administrative expenses of The Door for six months, Viewpoint for two months and a full year of 42West.  Selling, general and administrative expenses for the entertainment publicity and marketing segment only comprised nine months of 42West for the year ended December 31, 2017.  Selling, general and administrative expenses for the content production segment did not change for the year ended December 31, 2018 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2017.  However, it should be noted that the expenses for the year ended December 31, 2018 included approximately $0.4 million of bad debt expense related to the international distribution sales of Max Steel.

Depreciation and amortization increased by approximately $0.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2018, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2017. The increase in depreciation and amortization expense w primarily related to amortization of intangible assets acquired through the acquisitions of 42West, The Door and Viewpoint.  For the year ended December 31, 2018, depreciation and amortization included a full year of amortization for the intangible assets of 42West and six and two months, respectively for the intangible assets associated with The Door and Viewpoint.  For the year ended December 31, 2017, amortization of intangible assets only comprised those of 42West for a period of nine months.

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Legal and professional fees for the year ended December 31, 2018 increased by approximately $0.3 million as compared to the year ended December 31, 2017.  Legal and professional fees attributable to the entertainment publicity and marketing segment increased by approximately $0.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2018, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2017, primarily due to including legal and professional fees for a full year of 42West and six and two months, respectively, for The Door and Viewpoint.  Legal and professional fees related to the entertainment publicity and marketing segment for the year ended December 31, 2017 comprised only nine months of 42West due to the acquisition date of March 30, 2017.  Legal and professional fees for the content production segment decreased by approximately $0.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2018 as compared to December 31, 2017, primarily due to the elimination of services of consultants used for our feature film that were no longer needed in 2018.

Payroll expenses increased by approximately $2.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2018 as compared to the same period in the prior year.  Payroll expenses attributable to our entertainment publicity and marketing business increased by approximately $3.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2018 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2017 due to including payroll expenses for a full year of 42West and six and two months, respectively, for The Door and Viewpoint.  Payroll expenses related to the entertainment publicity and marketing segment for the year ended December 31, 2017 comprised only nine months of 42West.  Payroll expenses related to the content production segment decreased by approximately $0.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2018, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2017 due to a reduction of headcount in 2017.

Goodwill impairment increased by approximately $1.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2018 as compared to the year ended December 31,2017 as a result of our test of goodwill that determined that the carrying value of our goodwill was higher than the fair value of the goodwill for the reporting unit 42West within the entertainment publicity and marketing segment.  We did not have any goodwill impairment for the year ended December 31, 2017.

Other Income and Expenses

During the year ended December 31, 2018, a holder of a convertible promissory note exchanged the principal and accrued interest on the promissory note into 85,299 shares of our common stock pursuant to the terms of the promissory note, at an exercise price of $3.21 per share. On the date of the conversion, the market price of our common stock was $3.83 per share resulting in a loss on extinguishment of debt of $0.05 million. During the year ended December 31, 2017, a party associated with Max Steel that was a third-party guarantor to the prints and advertising loan paid $4.5 million on the loan. The gain on extinguishment of the debt was offset by the $0.6 million backstop guarantee to the third-party guarantor.

Acquisition costs consisted primarily of legal, consulting and auditing costs related to our acquisitions. Acquisition costs for the year ended December 31, 2018 consisted primarily of costs associated with our acquisition of The Door and Viewpoint and acquisition costs for the year ended December 31, 2017 were related to our acquisition of 42West.

During 2016, we issued certain warrants that required derivative liability classification. We recorded these warrants at their fair value on the date of issuance and record any changes to fair value at each balance sheet date on our consolidated statements of operation. The fair value of the warrant liability decreased by approximately $9.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2017 as compared to year ended December 31, 2016.   On July 1, 2018, we adopted ASU 2017-11 that no longer precludes instruments with down round provisions from equity classification. As a result, we used the modified retrospective approach and recorded a cumulative effect adjustment to retained earnings. Based on the guidance of ASU 2017-11, we are no longer required to calculate the fair value of the warrants at each balance sheet date and record changes in the fair value on the statement of operations.

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The fair value of put rights related to the 42West acquisition were recorded on our balance sheet on the date of the acquisition. The fair value of the put rights is measured at every balance sheet date and any changes are recorded on our consolidated statements of operations. The fair value of the put rights decreased by approximately $0.6 million and increased by $2.4 million, respectively, for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017.

The fair value of contingent consideration related to our acquisitions of 42West and The Door was recorded on our balance sheets on the respective acquisition dates. The fair value of the related contingent consideration is measured at every balance sheet date and any changes recorded on our consolidated statements of operations. The sellers of 42West achieved their financial targets and earned the contingent consideration during 2017. A number of shares of our common stock to be issued became fixed and the contingent consideration was reclassified to equity as of December 31, 2017, using the closing market price of our stock as of December 29, 2017 of $3.60. For the year ended December 31, 2017, we recorded a loss of $0.02 million related to the change in fair value of the contingent consideration for 42West.  For the year ended December 31, 2018, we recorded a gain on the change in the fair value of the contingent consideration related to the acquisition of The Door of approximately $1.1 million.

Interest expense decreased by approximately $0.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2018, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2017, primarily due to a decrease in the amount of accrued interest for our production service agreement and the prints & advertising loan, as payments have been received from the international and domestic distribution sales of Max Steel and such payments have been applied to the outstanding balances of the production service agreement and prints & advertising loan.

Net (Loss) Income

Net loss was approximately $(2.9) million or $(0.22) per share based on 13,773,395 weighted average shares outstanding and approximately $(3.7) million or $(0.23) per share based on 16,159,486 weighted average shares outstanding on a fully diluted basis for the year ended December 31, 2018. Net income was approximately $6.9 million or $0.72 per share based on 9,586,986 weighted average shares outstanding and $(2.1) million or $(0.20) per share based on 10,608,828 weighted average shares outstanding on a fully diluted basis for the year ended December 31, 2017. Net loss and net income for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively, were related to the factors discussed above.

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

Cash Flows

Year ended December 31, 2018 as compared to year ended December 31, 2017

Cash flows used by operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2018 were $0.6 million compared to cash flows provided by operating activities of $8.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2017. The decrease in cash provided by operating activities was primarily due to (i) collection of receivables from the motion picture Max Steel during 2017 (ii) collection of production tax incentives related to Max Steel during 2017 that were both used to pay the debt incurred for the production and P&A expenses for the release of the motion picture; (iii) increase in other current liabilities in 2018 related to the subsequent installments of the purchase price of The Door and Viewpoint; (iv) cash used to pay outstanding payables and (v) a decrease in cash flows from operations before changes in operating assets and liabilities of approximately $1.0 million.

Cash flows used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2018 were approximately $1.6 million as compared to cash flows used in investing activities of $0.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2017.  Cash flows used in investing activities during the year ended December 31, 2018 consisted of (i) purchases of fixed assets and (ii) consideration for the acquisitions of 42West, The Door and Viewpoint. Cash flows provided by investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2017 were primarily related to (i) purchase of fixed assets and (ii) payment of working capital adjustment related to the acquisition of 42West.  

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Cash flows provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2018 were approximately $3.2 million as compared to $4.6 million of cash flows used in financing activities during the year ended December 31, 2017.  Cash flows provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2018 consisted primarily of (i) $1.7 million in proceeds from our loan agreement with Bank United; (ii) repayment of $0.8 million on a line of credit with City National Bank; (iii) repayment of our debt under the prints and advertising loan; (iv) $3.9 million used to buy back our common stock pursuant to the put agreements with the sellers of 42West; (v) repayment of $0.6 million of a related party promissory note; (vi) $1.5 million in proceeds from a note payable and (vii) $6.8 million in proceeds from the sale of common stock including shares sold through a public offering  and shares sold to an investor in a registered direct offering. By contrast cash flows used in financing activities during the year ended December 31, 2017 consisted primarily of (i) $0.7 million in proceeds from our line of credit with City National Bank; (ii) proceeds from notes payable and sale of our common stock in a private placement in the aggregate amount of $2.7 million; (iii) net aggregate amount borrowed from a related party in the amount of $0.7 million; (iv) repayment of the prints and advertising loan and production service agreement in the aggregate amount of $10.2 million; (v) $1.2 million used to buy back our common stock pursuant to the put agreements with the sellers of 42West and (vi) $4.0 million in net proceeds from the sale of common stock and warrants through a registered public offering.

As of December 31,2018 and 2017, we had cash available for working capital of approximately $5.5 million, not including $0.6 million pledged as collateral for standby letter of credit for the New York office, and $5.3 million, respectively, and a working capital deficit of approximately $11.9 million and $10.7 million, respectively.

These factors, along with an accumulated deficit of $94.5 million as of December 31, 2018, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. Our audited consolidated financial statements contained in this 2018 Form 10-K do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of these uncertainties. In this regard, management is planning to raise any necessary additional funds through loans and additional issuances of our common stock, securities convertible into our common stock, debt securities or a combination of such financing alternatives. There is no assurance that we will be successful in raising additional capital. Such issuances of additional shares of common stock or securities convertible into common stock would further dilute the equity interests of our existing shareholders, perhaps substantially. We currently have the rights to several scripts, that we intend to produce and release subject to obtaining financing.  We will potentially earn a producer and overhead fee for this production. There can be no assurances that such production will be released or fees will be realized in future periods.

In addition, we have a substantial amount of debt. We do not currently have sufficient assets to repay such debt in full when due, and our available cash flow may not be adequate to maintain our current operations if we are unable to repay, extend or refinance such indebtedness. As of December 31, 2018, our total debt was approximately $14.3 million and our total stockholders’ equity was approximately $10.7 million. Approximately $6.0 million of the total debt as of December 31, 2018 represents the fair value of put options in connection with the 42West acquisition, which may or may not be exercised by the sellers. Approximately $2.4 million of our indebtedness as of December 31, 2018 ($0.7 million outstanding under the prints and advertising loan agreement plus $1.7 million outstanding under the production service agreement) was incurred by our Max Steel subsidiary and the variable interest entity consolidated in our financial statements, Max Steel Productions LLC (“Max Steel VIE”). Repayment of these loans was intended to be made from revenues generated by Max Steel both within and outside of the United States. Max Steel did not generate sufficient funds to repay either of these loans prior to the maturity date. As a result, if the lenders foreclose on the collateral securing the loans, our subsidiary will lose the copyright for Max Steel and, consequently, will no longer receive any revenues from Max Steel. In addition, we would impair the capitalized production costs of Max Steel included as an asset on our balance sheet, which as of December 31, 2018 was approximately $0.6 million.

If we are not able to generate sufficient cash to service our current or future indebtedness, we will be forced to take actions such as reducing or delaying digital or film productions, selling assets, restructuring or refinancing our indebtedness or seeking additional debt or equity capital or bankruptcy protection. We may not be able to affect any of these remedies on satisfactory terms or at all and our indebtedness may affect our ability to continue to operate as a going concern.

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Financing Arrangements

Prints and Advertising Loan

On August 12, 2016, Dolphin Max Steel Holdings LLC, or Max Steel Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of Dolphin Films, entered into a loan and security agreement, or the P&A Loan, providing for a $14.5 million non-revolving credit facility that matured on August 25, 2017. The loan is not guaranteed by any other Dolphin entity and the only asset held by Max Steel Holdings is the copyright for the motion picture, which secures the loan. The proceeds of the credit facility were used to pay a portion of the P&A expenses of the domestic distribution of our feature film, Max Steel. To secure Max Steel Holding’s obligations under the P&A Loan, we granted to the lender a security interest in bank account funds totaling $1,250,000 pledged as collateral. During the year ended December 31, 2017, we agreed to allow the lender to apply the $1,250,000 to the loan balance. The loan is partially secured by a $4,500,000 corporate guaranty from an unaffiliated party associated with the motion picture, of which we have agreed to backstop $620,000. As a condition precedent to closing the loan, Max Steel Holdings delivered to the lender clear chain-of-title to the rights of the motion picture Max Steel. The lender has retained a reserve of $1.5 million for loan fees and interest. Amounts borrowed under the credit facility accrue interest at either (i) a fluctuating per annum rate equal to the 5.5% plus a base rate or (ii) a per annum rate equal to 6.5% plus the LIBOR determined for the applicable interest period. As of December 31, 2018, and 2017, we recorded a liability of $682,842 and $1,900,970, respectively, including the reserve, related to this agreement on our consolidated balance sheets. On our consolidated statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2018 we recorded (i) interest expense of $60,001 and (ii) a reduction of $500,000 in direct costs from loan proceeds that were not used by the distributor for the marketing of the film and returned to the lender. During 2017, the third-party guarantor paid $4.5 million pursuant to the guarantee of the loan, reducing the outstanding balance by such amount and increasing our accrued expenses by the $620,000 backstop related to the guarantee. We recorded a gain on the extinguishment of debt on our consolidated statement of operations of approximately $3.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2017. Repayment of the loan was intended to be made from revenues generated by Max Steel in the United States. Max Steel did not generate sufficient funds to repay the loan prior to the maturity date. As a result, if the lender forecloses on the collateral securing the loan, Max Steel Holdings will lose the copyright for Max Steel and, consequently, will no longer receive any revenues from the domestic distribution of Max Steel. In addition, we would impair the entire capitalized production costs of Max Steel included as an asset on our balance sheet, which as of December 31, 2018 was $629,585.

Production Service Agreement

During 2014, the Max Steel VIE, a variable interest entity (or VIE) created in connection with the financing and production of Max Steel, entered into a loan agreement in the amount of $10.4 million to produce Max Steel. The loan is partially secured by international distribution agreements made prior to the commencement of principal photography and tax incentives. The agreement contains repayment milestones to be made during 2015, which, if not met, accrue interest at a default rate of 8.5% per annum above the published base rate of HSBC Private Bank (UK) Limited until the maturity on January 31, 2016 or the release of the movie. As a condition precedent to closing the loan, Max Steel Holdings delivered to the lender clear chain-of-title to the rights of the motion picture Max Steel. Due to delays in the release of the film, Max Steel VIE was unable to make some of the scheduled payments and, pursuant to the terms of the agreement, the Max Steel VIE has accrued $1.6 million of interest at the default rate. The film was released in theaters in the United States on October 14, 2016 and delivery to the international distributors began after the US release. As of December 31, 2018 and 2017, we had outstanding balances of $1.7 million and $2.1 million, respectively, related to this debt on our consolidated balance sheets. Repayment of the loan was intended to be made from revenues generated by Max Steel outside of the United States. Max Steel did not generate sufficient funds to repay the loan prior to the maturity date. As a result, if the lender forecloses on the collateral securing the loan, Max Steel VIE will lose the copyright for Max Steel and, consequently, our consolidated financial statements will no longer reflect any revenues from the distribution of Max Steel in foreign territories.

42West Line of Credit

42West had a revolving line of credit with City National Bank under a revolving note, which matured on November 1, 2017. The revolving note was not renewed. Upon closing of our acquisition of 42West, the line of credit had a balance of $500,000. On April 27, 2017, we drew an additional $250,000 from the line of credit to be used for working capital. City National Bank did not call the outstanding principal of the revolving note but on January 28, 2018, we paid the outstanding balance of $750,000 and satisfied in full our obligation under the revolving note.

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On March 15, 2018, 42West entered into a business loan agreement with BankUnited, N.A., (the “Loan Agreement”), for a revolving line of credit agreement under a revolving note. The revolving line of credit matures on March 15, 2020 and bears interest on the outstanding balance at the bank’s prime rate plus 0.25% per annum. The maximum amount that can be drawn on the revolving line of credit is $2,300,000. Amounts outstanding under the note are secured by 42West’s current and future inventory, chattel paper, accounts, equipment and general intangibles. On March 28, 2018, we drew $1,690,000 from the line of credit facility to purchase 183,296 shares of our common stock, per the put agreements with the sellers. On June 29, 2018, we issued a standby letter of credit, in the amount of $50,000, to secure the lease of 42West’s Los Angeles office. The borrowing capacity under the Loan Agreement was reduced by the same amount. As of December 31, 2018, the outstanding balance on the line of credit was $1,700,390.

The Loan Agreement contains customary affirmative covenants, including covenants regarding maintenance of a maximum debt to total net worth ratio of at least 4.0:1.0 and a minimum debt service coverage of 1.40x based on fiscal year-end audit to be calculated as provided in the Loan Agreement.  Further, the Loan Agreement contains customary negative covenants, including those that, subject to certain exceptions, restrict the ability of 42West to incur additional indebtedness, grant liens, make loans, investments or certain acquisitions, or enter into certain types of agreements. Upon the occurrence of an event of default, the bank may accelerate the maturity of the loan and declare the unpaid principal balance and accrued but unpaid interest immediately due and payable. In the event of 42West’s insolvency, such outstanding amounts will automatically become due and payable. 42West may prepay any amounts outstanding under the Credit Facility without penalty.

Promissory Notes

Convertible Notes

2019 Convertible Debt

On March 25, 2019, we issued a convertible promissory note agreement to an unrelated investor and received $200,000. The convertible promissory note bears interest at a rate of 10% per annum and matures on March 25, 2021. The balance of the convertible promissory note and any accrued interest may be converted at the note holders’ option at any time at a purchase price based on the 30-day trailing average market price of the Common Stock.

2018 Convertible Debt

On July 5, 2018, we issued an 8% secured convertible promissory note in the principal amount of $1.5 million (the “Note”), to Pinnacle Family Office Investments, L.P. (“Pinnacle”), pursuant to a Securities Purchase Agreement, dated the same date. We used the proceeds of the convertible promissory note to finance the Company’s acquisition of The Door. Our obligations under the Note are secured primarily by a lien on the assets of The Door and Viewpoint. We must pay interest on the principal amount of the Note, at the rate of 8% per annum in cash on a quarterly basis. The Note matures on January 5, 2020. We may prepay the convertible promissory note in whole, but not in part, at any time prior to maturity; however, if we voluntarily prepay the convertible promissory note, we must (i) pay Pinnacle a prepayment penalty equal to 10% of the prepaid amount and (ii) issue to Pinnacle warrants to purchase 100,000 shares of common stock with an exercise price of $3.25 per share. The Note also contains certain customary events of default. Pinnacle may convert the outstanding principal amount of the convertible promissory note into shares of common stock at any time at a price per share of $3.25, subject to adjustment for stock dividends, stock splits, dilutive issuances and subsequent rights offerings. At our election, upon a conversion of the convertible promissory note, we may issue common stock in respect of accrued and unpaid interest with respect to the principal amount of the convertible promissory note converted by Pinnacle.

On the date of the Note, our common stock had a market value of $3.65. We determined that the Note contained a beneficial conversion feature or debt discount by calculating the number of shares using the conversion rate of the Note of $3.25 per share, and then calculating the market value of the shares that would be issued at conversion using the market value of our common stock on the date of the Note. We recorded a debt discount on the Note of $184,614 that will be amortized and recorded as interest expense over the life of the Note. For the year ended December 31, 2018, we paid interest and recorded interest expense in our audited consolidated statement of operations in the amount of $58,333. For the year ended December 31, 2018, we recorded interest expense of $61,538 from the amortization of the beneficial conversion of the Note.  As of December 31, 2018, we had a balance of $1,376,924, net of $123,076 of debt discount, recorded in noncurrent liabilities on our audited consolidated balance sheet, related to this Note.

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2017 Convertible Promissory Notes

On July 18, July 26, July 27, July 31, August 30, September 6, September 8, and September 22, 2017, we entered into subscription agreements pursuant to which we issued convertible promissory notes, each with substantially similar terms, for an aggregate principal amount of $875,000. Each of the convertible promissory notes bears interest at a rate of 10% per annum and matures one year from the date of issue, with the exception of one note in the amount of $75,000 which matures two years from the date of issue. The principal and any accrued interest of the each of the convertible promissory notes are convertible by the respective holders at a price of either (i) the 90 trading day average price per share of common stock as of the date the holder submits a notice of conversion or (ii) if an eligible offering (as defined in each of the convertible promissory notes) of common stock is made, 95% of the public offering share price (as defined in each of the convertible promissory notes).  We have agreed to extend the maturity date of each of the convertible promissory notes, (with the exception of the note described below that converted on June 25, 2018), for an additional year from their original respective maturity dates.

On June 25, 2018, one of the holders of a convertible promissory note notified us that they would convert $250,000 of principal and $23,425 of accrued interest into 85,299 shares of common stock at a price of $3.21 per share using the 90-day trading average price per share of common stock as of June 22, 2018. On the date of the conversion (June 25, 2018), the market price of the Common Stock was $3.83 per share and we recorded a loss on extinguishment of debt in the amount of $53,271 on our consolidated statements of operation for the year ended December 31, 2018.

We have a balance of $625,000 in current liabilities, a balance of $1,376,924 in noncurrent liabilities and accrued interest of $4,861 in other current liabilities related to these convertible promissory notes payable as of December 31, 2018.

Nonconvertible Notes Payable

On July 5, 2012, we issued an unsecured promissory note in the amount of $300,000 bearing interest at a rate of 10% per annum and payable on demand to KCF Investments LLC (“KCF”), an entity controlled by Mr. Stephen L Perrone, an affiliate of Dolphin. The proceeds from this note were used for working capital. On December 10, 2018, we agreed to exchange this promissory note, including accrued interest of $192,233, for a new unsecured promissory note in the amount of $492,233 that matures on December 10, 2023.  The promissory note bears interest at a rate of 10% per annum and provides for monthly repayments of principal and interest in the amount of $10,459 beginning January 15, 2019.  The promissory note may be repaid at any time prior to maturity without a penalty.  

On November 30, 2017, we issued a promissory note in the amount of $200,000 that matures on January 15, 2019. We may prepay this promissory note with no penalty at any time. The promissory note bears interest at a rate of 10% per annum. We agreed to extend the maturity date until January 15, 2020.

On June 14, 2017, we issued a promissory note in the amount of $400,000 that matures two years after issuance. We may prepay this promissory note with no penalty after the initial six months. The promissory note bears interest at a rate of 10% per annum.

On April 10 and April 18, 2017, we issued three promissory notes, maturing six months after issuance, to two separate lenders and received a total principal amount of $550,000. The notes bore interest at 10% per annum and could have been prepaid without any penalty. On October 10 and October 18, 2017, these three promissory notes matured. The lenders agreed to extend the maturity dates of these three promissory notes until December 15, 2017. The interest rate of one of the promissory notes in the amount of $250,000 increased for the period between October 18, 2017 and December 15, 2017, from 10% to 12%. All other provisions of the promissory notes remained unchanged. On December 28, 2017, we repaid the aggregate principal of $550,000 outstanding on these three notes plus accrued interest of $6,667.

We have a balance of $479,874 in current liabilities, a balance of $612,359 in noncurrent liabilities and accrued interest of $6,315 in other current liabilities related to these promissory notes payable as of December 31, 2018.

Payable to Former Member of 42West

During 2011, 42West entered into an agreement to purchase the membership interest of one of its members. Pursuant to the agreement, the outstanding principal was payable immediately if 42West sold, assigned, transferred, or otherwise disposed of all or substantially all of its assets and/or business prior to December 31, 2018. In connection with our acquisition of 42West, payment of this redemption was accelerated, with $300,000 paid in April 2017, and the remaining $225,000 paid in January 2018.

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2017 Public Offering

On December 26, 2017, in an underwritten registered public offering, we sold 1,215,000 units at a public offering price of $4.13 per unit. Each unit consisted of one share of our common stock and one warrant to purchase one share of our common stock at an exercise price of $4.74 per share.  The net proceeds of the Offering were approximately $4.2 million, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses payable by us.  Pursuant to the underwriting agreement, we issued 86,503 underwriter warrants and granted an over-allotment option to the underwriters in the Offering. In January 2018, the underwriters exercised their over-allotment option with respect to 20,750 shares of common stock and 175,750 warrants and we received proceeds of $81,044.

2018 Public Offering

On July 24, 2018, in an underwritten registered public offering, we sold 2,000,000 shares of common stock at a public offering price of $3.00 per share. The net proceeds of the Offering were approximately $5.3 million, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses payable by us.  In August, 2018, the underwriters exercised their over-allotment option with respect to 265,000 shares of common stock and we received proceeds, net of the underwriter discount and expenses, of $0.7 million.

2018 Registered Direct Offering

On September 19, 2018, we issued and sold to a single investor in a registered direct offering an aggregate of 250,000 shares of our common stock at a price of $3.00 per share.  The offering was made pursuant to our effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3 previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We received proceeds of approximately $0.7 million from this issuance and sale of our common stock after deducting related expenses.

Critical Accounting Policies, Judgments and Estimates

Our discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based upon our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, or “GAAP”. The preparation of these consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates, judgments and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and the related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

An accounting policy is considered to be critical if it requires an accounting estimate to be made based on assumptions about matters that are highly uncertain at the time the estimate is made, and if different estimates that reasonably could have been used, or changes in the accounting estimate that are reasonably likely to occur, could materially impact the consolidated financial statements. We believe that the following critical accounting policies reflect the more significant estimates and assumptions used in the preparation of the consolidated financial statements.

Capitalized Production Costs

Capitalized production costs represent the costs incurred to develop and produce a web series or feature films. These costs primarily consist of salaries, equipment and overhead costs, as well as the cost to acquire rights to scripts. Capitalized production costs are stated at the lower of cost, less accumulated amortization and tax credits, if applicable, or fair value. These costs are capitalized in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board, or “FASB”, Accounting Standards Codification, or “ASC”, Topic 926-20-50-2 “Other Assets – Film Costs”. Unamortized capitalized production costs are evaluated for impairment whenever there are events or changes in circumstance that would indicate that the carrying amount of the capitalized production costs are below their fair value. If estimated remaining revenue is not sufficient to recover the unamortized capitalized production costs for that title, the unamortized capitalized production costs will be written down to fair value. Any project that is not greenlit for production within three years is written off.

We are responsible for certain contingent compensation, known as participations, paid to certain creative participants such as writers, directors and actors. Generally, these payments are dependent on the performance of the web series and are based on factors such as total revenue as defined per each of the participation agreements. We are also responsible for residuals, which are payments based on revenue generated from secondary markets that are generally paid to third parties pursuant to a collective bargaining, union or guild agreement. These costs are accrued to direct operating expenses as the revenues, as defined in the participation agreements, are achieved and as sales to the secondary markets are made triggering the residual payment.

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Due to the inherent uncertainties involved in making such estimates of ultimate revenues and expenses, these estimates are likely to differ to some extent in the future from actual results. Our management regularly reviews and revises when necessary its ultimate revenue and cost estimates, which may result in a change in the rate of amortization of film costs and participations and residuals and/or write-down of all or a portion of the unamortized deferred production costs to its estimated fair value. Our management estimates the ultimate revenue based on existing contract negotiations with domestic distributors and international buyers as well as management’s experience with similar productions in the past.

An increase in the estimate of ultimate revenue will generally result in a lower amortization rate and, therefore, less amortization expense of deferred productions costs, while a decrease in the estimate of ultimate revenue will generally result in a higher amortization rate and, therefore, higher amortization expense of capitalized production costs. Our management evaluates unamortized production costs for impairment whenever there is an event that may signal that the fair value of the unamortized production costs are below their carrying value. One example that may trigger this type of analysis is the under-performance in the domestic box office of a feature film. For digital productions, this analysis may occur if we are unable to secure sufficient advertising revenue or a suitable distributor for our web series. We typically perform an impairment analysis using a discounted cash flow method. Any write-down resulting from an impairment analysis is included in direct costs within our consolidated statements of operations.  In addition, capitalized production costs for projects that are not set for production within three years of the cost being capitalized should be impaired.  Based on this guidance we impaired the cost of a script in the amount of $0.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2018.

Revenue Recognition

On January 1, 2018, we adopted ASU No. 2014-09 – Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606). Using this newly adopted guidance, we recognize revenue when promised goods or services are transferred to our clients in an amount that reflects the consideration to which we expect to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services. Revenue from public relations consists of fees from the performance of professional services and billings for direct costs reimbursed by clients. Fees are generally recognized on a straight-line or monthly basis, as the services are consumed by our clients, which approximates the proportional performance on such contracts. Direct costs reimbursed by clients are billed as pass-through revenue with no mark-up.

We have entered into agreements with foreign and a domestic distributor for our motion picture Max Steel. These international distribution agreements contain minimum guaranteed payments once the motion picture is delivered and other specifications are met per the agreements. We entered into a domestic distribution agreement with Open Road to distribute the film in the United States using their existing relationships and output agreements with the movie theaters, as well, as DVD, SVOD, pay TV, and free TV distributors. These distribution agreements are for the licensing of function intellectual property and, as such, we recognize revenue once the motion picture has been delivered and the license period has begun.

ASC 606 provides guidance on determining whether revenues should be recognized on a gross or net basis (Principal vs Agent). Based on the new guidance of ASC 606, we determined that for the domestic distribution of Max Steel we should report revenues on a gross basis because we are primarily responsible for the fulfillment of the completed motion picture and carry the “inventory risk” if the motion picture does not meet the customers specifications. At other times, we may enter into contracts with distributors, on significantly different terms, and will need to evaluate these contracts at that time.

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Fair Value Measurements

Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. Assets and liabilities measured at fair value are categorized based on whether the inputs are observable in the market and the degree that the inputs are observable. Inputs refer broadly to the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability, including assumptions about risk. Observable inputs are based on market data obtained from sources independent of our company. Unobservable inputs reflect our own assumptions based on the best information available in the circumstances. The fair value hierarchy prioritizes the inputs used to measure fair value into three broad levels, defined as follows:

We carry certain derivative financial instruments using inputs classified as “Level 3” in the fair value hierarchy on our balance sheets.

On July 1, 2018, we adopted ASU 2017-11 and as a result certain warrants with down round provisions that were previously classified as liabilities with changes in fair value on each balance sheet date recorded in the statement of operations are now recorded in equity.  

Put Rights

In connection with the 42West acquisition, we entered into put agreements with each of the sellers of 42West granting them the right, but not the obligation, to cause us to purchase up to an aggregate of 1,187,087 of their shares received as consideration for their membership interest of 42West, including the put rights on the shares earned from the earn out consideration. Based upon the results of operations of 42West during 2017, the sellers earned this additional consideration. In January of 2018, we also entered into put agreements with certain 42West employees granting them the right, but not the obligation, to cause us to purchase up to an aggregate of 140,697 of their shares received in April 2017 and in July 2018 and those earned from the earn out consideration. We have agreed to purchase the shares at $9.22 per share during certain specified exercise periods as set forth in the put agreements, up until December 2020. During the year ended December 31, 2018, we purchased 408,172 shares of common stock for an aggregate amount of approximately $3.8 million from the sellers and the 42West employees with put options.

We use a Black-Scholes Option Pricing model, which incorporates significant inputs that are not observable in the market, and thus represents a Level 3 measurement as defined in ASC820. The unobservable inputs utilized for measuring the fair value of the put rights reflects management’s own assumptions that market participants would use in valuing the put rights. The put rights were initially measured on the date of the put agreements and are subsequently measured at each balance sheet date with changes in the fair value between balance sheet dates, being recorded as a gain or loss in the statement of operations.

Contingent Consideration

On July 5, 2018, in connection with our acquisition of The Door, we agreed to issue to the sellers up to 1,538,462 shares of common stock based on a price of $3.25 per share and up to $2.0 million in cash if certain adjusted net income targets were met over a four-year period. If the adjusted net income targets are achieved, the contingent consideration is first paid in shares of common stock and the last $2.0 million of contingent consideration earned, if any, is paid in cash.

During 2017, the sellers of 42West earned approximately $9.3 million (1,012,292 shares of our common stock) as a result of achievement of adjusted EBITDA targets based on operations of 42West. Such additional consideration is payable in three annual installments. A number of shares to be issued became fixed and the contingent consideration was reclassified to equity as of December 31, 2017, using the closing market price of our stock as of December 29, 2017 of $3.60.

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To value the contingent consideration, we used a Monte Carlo Simulation Model, which incorporates significant inputs that are not observable in the market, and thus represents Level 3 measurement as defined in ASC820. The unobservable inputs utilized for measuring the fair value of the contingent consideration reflect management’s own assumptions about the assumptions that market participants would use in valuing the contingent consideration. The contingent consideration for The Door was initially measured as of the date of the merger (July 5, 2018) and is subsequently measured at each balance sheet date with changes in the fair value between balance sheet dates, being recorded as a gain or loss in the statement of operations.

Income Taxes

We reported an effective tax rate of 26.9% and 4.6% for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. We have deferred tax assets and liabilities as a result of temporary differences between financial statement carrying amounts and the tax basis of assets and liabilities. As of December 31, 2018, we had approximately $36,865,500 of net operating loss carryforwards for U.S. federal income tax purposes. We believe it is more likely than not that the deferred tax asset will not be realized and have recorded a net valuation allowance of $14,259,043 and $12,280,153 as of December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively which resulted in a decrease in this deferred tax account.

 On December 22, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the "Tax Act") was signed into law, making significant changes to the taxation of U.S. business entities. The Tax Act reduced the U.S. corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21%, imposed a one-time transition tax in connection with the move from a worldwide tax system to a territorial tax system, provided for accelerated deductions for certain U.S. film production costs, imposed limitations on certain tax deductions such as executive compensation in future periods, and included numerous other provisions. We are currently in the process of evaluating the full impact of the Tax Act on our financial statements and have not completed this evaluation. We have reported provisional amounts reflecting our reasonable estimates of the impact of the Tax Act. The estimated impact of the Tax Act is based on a preliminary review of the new law and is subject to revision based upon further analysis and interpretation of the Tax Act.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

For a discussion of recent accounting pronouncements, see Note 3 to the audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this 2018 Form 10-K.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

As of December 31, 2018 and 2017, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements.

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements in this 2018 Form 10-K contain “forward-looking statements” for purposes of federal and state securities laws. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about our plans, objectives, representations and intentions and are not historical facts and typically are identified by use of terms such as “may,” “should,” “could,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue” and similar words, although some forward-looking statements are expressed differently. You should be aware that the forward-looking statements included herein represent management’s current judgment and expectations, but our actual results, events and performance could differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Specifically, this 2018 Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements regarding:

·

our expectations regarding the potential benefits and synergies we can derive from our acquisitions;

·

our expectations to offer clients a broad array of interrelated services, the impact of such strategy on our future profitability and growth and our belief regarding our resulting market position;

·

our beliefs regarding our competitive advantages;

·

our expectations regarding increased movie marketing budgets at several large key clients and the impact of such increased budgets on revenue and profit in our entertainment publicity and marketing segment over the next several years;

·

our intention to hire new individuals or teams whose existing books of business and talent rosters can be accretive to revenues and profits of the business and our expectations regarding the impact of such additional hires on the growth of our revenues and profits;

·

our beliefs regarding the drivers of growth in the entertainment publicity and marketing segment, the timing of such anticipated growth trend and its resulting impact on the overall revenue;

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·

our intention to expand into television production in the near future;

·

our belief regarding the transferability of 42West’s skills and experience to related business sectors and our intention to expand our involvement in those areas;

·

our intention to grow and diversify our portfolio of film and digital content and our beliefs regarding our strategies to accomplish such growth and diversification;

·

our beliefs regarding the impact of our strategic focus on content and creation of innovative content distribution strategies on our competitive position in the industry, use of capital, growth and long-term shareholder value;

·

our plan to balance our financial risks against the probability of commercial success for each project;

·

our intention to selectively pursue complementary acquisitions to enforce our competitive advantages, scale and grow, our belief that such acquisitions will create synergistic opportunities and increased profits and cash flows, and our expectation regarding the timing of such acquisitions;

·

our expectations concerning our ability to derive future cash flows and revenues from the production, release and advertising of future web series on online platforms, and the timing of receipt of such cash flows and revenues;

·

our expectations concerning the timing of production and release of future feature films and digital projects, our intention to obtain financing for such projects and our target demographics;

·

our expectation that we will continue to receive revenues from our motion picture, Max Steel from other secondary distribution revenues;

·

our intention to use our purchased scripts for future motion picture and digital productions;

·

our expectations to raise funds through loans, additional sales of our common stock, securities convertible into our common stock, debt securities or a combination of financing alternatives;

·

our belief that the only recourse to the lenders under the production service agreement and prints and advertising loan is to foreclose on the collateral securing the loans, which consists of the copyright for Max Steel;

·

our beliefs regarding the outcome of litigation to which we are a party, that arise in the ordinary course of business; and

·

our intention to implement improvements to address material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting.

These forward-looking statements reflect our current views about future events and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions. We wish to caution readers that certain important factors may have affected and could in the future affect our actual results and could cause actual results to differ significantly from those expressed in any forward-looking statement. The most important factors that could prevent us from achieving our goals, and cause the assumptions underlying forward-looking statements and the actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by those forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the following:

·

our ability to realize the anticipated benefits of the acquisitions we have made, including synergies, expanded interrelated service offerings, growth and increased revenues;

·

our ability to accurately predict our clients’ acceptance of our differentiated business model that offers interrelated services;

·

our ability to successfully identify and complete acquisitions in line with our growth strategy and anticipated timeline, and to realize the anticipated benefits of those acquisitions;

·

our ability to accurately interpret trends and predict future demand in the digital media and film industries;

·

our ability to repay our loans under the production service agreement and prints and advertising loan in accordance with the terms of the agreements so that we will be able to continue to receive revenues from Max Steel;

·

our ability to comply with terms and covenants in our revolving credit line;

·

our ability to maintain compliance with Nasdaq listing requirements;

·

the ability of the lenders under the production service agreement and prints and advertising loan to successfully assert that we are liable to them for the payment of our subsidiary’s or Max Steel VIE’s debt;

·

adverse events, trends and changes in the entertainment or entertainment marketing industries that could negatively impact our operations and ability to generate revenues;

·

loss of a significant number of entertainment publicity and marketing clients;

37

·

the ability of key 42West clients to increase their movie marketing budgets as anticipated;

·

our ability to continue to successfully identify and hire new individuals or teams who will provide growth opportunities;

·

uncertainty that our strategy of hiring of new individuals or teams will positively impact our revenues and profits;

·

lack of demand for strategic communications services by traditional and non-traditional media clients who are expanding their activities in the content production, branding and consumer products PR sectors;

·

unpredictability of the commercial success of our future web series and motion pictures;

·

economic factors that adversely impact the entertainment industry, as well as advertising, production and distribution revenue in the online and motion picture industries;

·

our ability to identify, produce and develop online digital entertainment and motion pictures that meet industry and customer demand;

·

competition for talent and other resources within the industry and our ability to enter into agreements with talent under favorable terms;

·

our ability to attract and/or retain the highly specialized services of the 42West and The Door executives and employees and our CEO;

·

availability of financing from investors under favorable terms;

·

our ability to adequately address material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting; and

·

uncertainties regarding the outcome of pending litigation.

The foregoing list of important factors does not include all such factors, nor necessarily present them in order of importance. In addition, you should consult other disclosures made by the Company (such as in our other filings with the SEC or in Company press releases) for other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected by the Company. Please refer to Part I, Item 1A, Risk Factors of this 2018 Form 10-K for additional information regarding factors that could affect the Company’s results of operations, financial condition and liquidity. Any forward-looking statements, which we make in this 2018 Form 10-K, speak only as of the date of such statement, and we undertake no obligation to update such statements, except as otherwise required by applicable law.  We can give no assurance that such forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. An occurrence of, or any material adverse change in, one or more of the risk factors or risks and uncertainties referred to in this report or included in our other periodic reports filed with the SEC could materially and adversely impact our operations and our future financial results. Comparisons of results for current and any prior periods are not intended to express any future trends or indications of future performance, unless expressed as such, and should only be viewed as historical data.

Any public statements or disclosures made by us following this report that modify or impact any of the forward-looking statements contained in or accompanying this report will be deemed to modify or supersede such outlook or other forward-looking statements in or accompanying this report.

ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

Not required for smaller reporting companies.

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ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

The financial statements required by this Item 8 are included at the end of this Report beginning on page F-1 as follows:

ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE

None.

ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

Management’s Report on the Effectiveness of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Disclosure controls and procedures are controls and other procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to management, including our Chief Executive Officer, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

We carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) as of December 31, 2018. Based upon that evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective due to material weaknesses identified in our internal control over financial reporting described below.

We are responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting as such term is defined by Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(f). Our internal controls are designed to provide reasonable assurance as to the reliability of our financial statements for external purposes in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States.

Internal control over financial reporting has inherent limitations and may not prevent or detect misstatements. Therefore, even those systems determined to be effective can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance with respect to financial statement preparation and presentation. Further, because of changes in conditions, the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting may vary over time.

A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.

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Under the supervision and with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, we have evaluated the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2018, as required by Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(c). The framework on which such evaluation was based is contained in the report entitled “Internal Control — Integrated Framework” issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 Framework) (the “COSO Report”). We concluded that based on our evaluation, our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2018, due to the following material weaknesses that were identified:

·

We determined the following design deficiencies related to the entity level control environment, including risk assessment, information and communication and monitoring controls.

-

There is no documented fraud risk assessment or risk management oversight function.

-

There are no documented procedures related to financial reporting matters (both internal and external) to the appropriate parties.

-

There is no documented process to monitor and remediate deficiencies in internal controls.

·

We determined that review and approval of certain aspects of the accounting process including the documented review of accounting reconciliations, complex transactions and journal entries are inadequate and thus considered to be a material weakness in internal control. Specifically:

-

There are no documented period end closing procedures, specifically none that detail the individuals that are responsible for preparation, review and approval of period end close functions.

·

We observed the following inadequate segregation of duties within the accounting process that we determined were a material weakness of our internal control:

-

One individual has the ability to add vendors to the master vendor file. This individual also has access to the Company checkbook that is maintained in a secured location.

-

One individual has sole access to our information technology system to initiate, process and record financial information. We have not developed any internal controls related to information technology systems including change management, physical security, access or program development.

Remediation of Material Weaknesses in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

In order to remediate the material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting, we intend to implement improvements during fiscal year 2019, under the direction of our board of directors, as follows:

·

Our board of directors intends to review the COSO “Internal Control over Financial Reporting - Guidance for Smaller Public Companies” that was published in 2006 including the control environment, risk assessment, control activities, information and communication and monitoring. Based on this framework, the board of directors plans to implement controls as needed assuming a cost benefit relationship. In addition, our board of directors plans to evaluate the key concepts of the updated 2013 COSO “Internal Control – Integrated Framework” as it provides a means to apply internal control to any type of entity.

·

Perform a comprehensive review of current procedures to ensure compliance with our newly documented accounting policies and procedures;

·

We are in the process of enhancing our controls over segregation of duties.

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Limitations on Effectiveness of Controls and Procedures

 A control system, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the control system’s objectives will be met. We do not expect that our disclosure controls will prevent or detect all errors and all fraud. Further, the design of a control system must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits of controls must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within the Company have been detected. These inherent limitations include the realities that judgments in decision-making can be faulty, and that breakdowns can occur because of simple error or mistake. Controls can also be circumvented by the individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more people, or by management override of the controls. The design of any system of controls is based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions. Over time, controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions or deterioration in the degree of compliance with associated policies or procedures. Because of the inherent limitations in a cost-effective control system, misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.

Changes in Internal Controls

During the year ended December 31, 2018, we implemented the following procedures to remediate some of the material weaknesses in internal controls:

·

During the third quarter of 2018, we hired two persons in finance to ensure proper segregation of duties, reconciliation reviews, and quarter end reviews. In addition, we expect that with these two individuals we will be able to implement the necessary controls to remediate the remaining material weaknesses in internal controls.

·

We have engaged the services of an independent public accounting firm to assist with review of complex accounting transactions.

·

During the fourth quarter of 2018, we finalized the documentation of all significant accounting policies and ensured that the accounting policies are in accordance with GAAP and that internal controls are designed effectively to ensure that the financial information is properly reported.  The polices became effective in January 2019.

We have also implemented the following procedures to remediate some of the material weaknesses in internal controls beginning in 2019:

·

the Company has documented month-end and quarter-end closing procedures, including the individuals responsible for preparation, review and approval of the period end close.

We are neither an accelerated filer nor a large accelerated filer, as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act, and are not otherwise including in this 2018 Form 10-K an attestation report of our independent registered public accounting firm regarding internal control over financial reporting. Management’s report was not required to be attested to by our registered public accounting firm pursuant to Item 308(b) of Regulation S-K.

ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION

None

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PART III

ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS, AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

The information required by this item is incorporated by reference to our Proxy Statement for our 2019 Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 and is incorporated herein by reference.

We have adopted a Code of Ethics applicable to our senior financial officers that is located on our internet website at www.dolphinentertainment.com under “Investor Relations – Corporate Governance.” We intend to provide disclosure of any amendments or waivers of our Code of Ethics on our website within four business days following the date of the amendment or waiver.

ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

The information required by this item is incorporated by reference to our Proxy Statement for our 2019 Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 and is incorporated herein by reference.

ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS

The information required by this item is incorporated by reference to our Proxy Statement for our 2019 Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 and is incorporated herein by reference.

ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE

The information required by this item is incorporated by reference to our Proxy Statement for our 2018 Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 and is incorporated herein by reference.

ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES

The information required by this item is incorporated by reference to our Proxy Statement for our 2018 Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 and is incorporated herein by reference.

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PART IV

ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES

(a) Documents filed as part of this report:

(1) Financial Statements

See Item 8 for Financial Statements included with this 2018 Form 10-K.

(2) Financial Statement Schedules

None.

(3) Exhibits

The exhibits identified in the Exhibit Index below are included herein or incorporated by reference.

Exhibit Index

43

44

† Management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.

* Schedules (and similar attachments) have been omitted pursuant to Item 601(b)(2) of Regulation S-K. The Company agrees to furnish supplementally a copy of any omitted schedule to the Securities and Exchange Commission upon request.

ITEM 16 FORM 10-K SUMMARY

None.

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SIGNATURES

In accordance with Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

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INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Dolphin Entertainment, Inc. (formerly known as Dolphin Digital Media, Inc.)
Audited Consolidated Financial Statements

F-1

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

Board of Directors and Stockholders

Dolphin Entertainment, Inc. and subsidiaries

Coral Gables, Florida

Opinion on the Consolidated Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Dolphin Entertainment, Inc. and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2018 and 2017, the related consolidated statements of operations, changes in stockholders’ equity (deficit), and cash flows for each of the two years then ended and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company and subsidiaries at December 31, 2018 and 2017, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the two years then ended December 31, 2018, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Going Concern Uncertainty

The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company has suffered recurring losses from operations from prior years, has an accumulated deficit, and a working capital deficit that raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans in regard to these matters are also described in Note 2. The consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

Basis for Opinion

These consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s consolidated financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.

Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Certified Public Accountants

We have served as the Company's auditor since 2014.

Miami, Florida

April 15, 2019

F-2

DOLPHIN ENTERTAINMENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated Balance Sheets
As of December 31, 2018 and 2017

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

F-3

DOLPHIN ENTERTAINMENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated Statements of Operations
For the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

F-4

DOLPHIN ENTERTAINMENT, INC AND SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
For the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017

(Continued)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

F-5

DOLPHIN ENTERTAINMENT, INC AND SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Continued)
For the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017

Reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash:  The following table provides a reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash reported within the statement of cash flows that sum to the total of the same such amounts shown in the statement of cash flows:

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

F-6

DOLPHIN ENTERTAINMENT INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity
For the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017