NTN Buzztime
Encyclopedia
NTN Buzztime is a company which produces interactive entertainment across many different platforms. Its most well-known product, simply called Buzztime, and formerly known as the NTN Network, since 1985, broadcasts trivia
and other games via broadband over a national network
to over 3,800 bar
s and restaurant
s in the United States
, Canada
and the Caribbean
. Operations in the U.K. were discontinued Q3 2008. Typically, independently-owned bars and restaurants offer Buzztime. However, it is also offered by major chains such as Buffalo Wild Wings
and Damon's Grill
, and is being implemented at some T.G.I. Friday's
and Applebee's
. Buzztime offers several different kinds of trivia games based on a variety of subjects, including pop culture, entertainment
, world history
, geography
, sport
s and music
, as well as general trivia games with questions in many categories.
NTN Buzztime, Inc. is based in Carlsbad, California
. The company was founded as Alroy Industries and formerly went by the name NTN Communications, Inc. from 1985 to 2005.
In January 2008 Buzztime Entertainment filed a legal suit against Sony Computer Entertainment Europe
alleging that Sony had violated several of its trademarks with its Buzz! series
of video games. The suit accused Sony of a "malicious, fraudulent, knowing, wilful, and deliberate" violation of its trademarks. In the suit Buzztime is seeking the recall and destruction of all infringing products and is asking the court for actual damages, punitive damages, legal fees and an order to the US Patent and Trademark Office not to register Sony's pending Buzz trademarks.
Buzztime players use "Playmakers" to answer the questions that are displayed on the television screens. Questions are answered by pressing numbered buttons that correspond to multiple-choice answers. The region on the right side of the "Playmaker" is known as the "Playzone" and it features a numbered keypad. However, many players also effectively utilize the row of numbers at the top of the "Playmaker" to respond to questions.
After each game, the top 20 individual winners as well as the top 20 establishments on the entire network (based on an average of the five highest scores at that establishment—top six for Showdown) are broadcast
in a "Network Rankings" summary for each game. Many teams gather together in their respective establishments to partake in the battle of wits.
Many frequent Buzztime players are enrolled in the "Players Plus" program. Players earn Players Plus points by participating in a game, and can earn additional points by beating a target score that is given before the start of each game.
In the past, Buzztime trivia offerings were available over online services such as the now-defunct ImagiNation Network
. Now, Buzztime trivia can be found on other platforms, such as an electronic home-system version and a mobile phone
version.
In 2004, the company launched the Blast channel that is available to establishments that upgrade to the ITV2 system. (New Buzztime installations use the 2 channel ITV2 system.) This "Channel B" features the games Blackjack
, Cutthroat
(a form of billiards
), Texas hold 'em
poker
, Shark Attack (similar to hangman
) and Crazy Golf, a miniature golf
-type game. It also can be used to broadcast some of the QB1 games, allowing the first channel to broadcast the trivia games.
In January 2006, the company renamed the NTN Network "Buzztime." Furthermore, the "Blast" brandname was discontinued. It also launched an expanded players' website, which features more-detailed player statistics and a phpBB
-based forum. In 2009 a third "Channel C" all sports trivia channel was added to the system, but only 2 of the 3 channels (Trivia, Games or Sports) can be used simultaneously at a location. The Forum was discontinued in January, 2010 and replaced with a Blog.
NTN Buzztime also once produced and distributed ProHost Seating and Reservations Software for managing door and floor operations in Restaurants, Casinos, Theme Parks, Hotels, in its Arlington, TX office- known as "Software Solutions". Signature customers include Harrah's Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Universal Studios and Hard Rock Cafe. The software solutions division was sold by NTN Buzztime, Inc. in 2007 to ESP Digital Media.
Trivia
The trivia are the three lower Artes Liberales, i.e. grammar, rhetoric and logic. These were the topics of basic education, foundational to the quadrivia of higher education, and hence the material of basic education, of interest only to undergraduates...
and other games via broadband over a national network
Computer network
A computer network, often simply referred to as a network, is a collection of hardware components and computers interconnected by communication channels that allow sharing of resources and information....
to over 3,800 bar
Bar (establishment)
A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...
s and restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
s in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
. Operations in the U.K. were discontinued Q3 2008. Typically, independently-owned bars and restaurants offer Buzztime. However, it is also offered by major chains such as Buffalo Wild Wings
Buffalo Wild Wings
Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar is a casual dining restaurant and sports bar franchise in the United States that is known for its Buffalo wings.-History:...
and Damon's Grill
Damon's Grill
Damon's Grill & Sports Bar was founded in 1979 by Irv Rossman, Jerry Rossman, Sam Massara, Joe Mazzola, and Joe Nader and is currently headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Restaurants are usually sectioned into two separate parts: The dining room, and the clubhouse with bar...
, and is being implemented at some T.G.I. Friday's
T.G.I. Friday's
T.G.I. Friday's is an American restaurant chain focusing on casual dining. The company is a unit of the Carlson Companies. Its name is taken from the expression TGIF...
and Applebee's
Applebee's
Applebee’s International, Inc., is an American company which develops, franchises, and operates the Applebee's Neighborhood Grill and Bar restaurant chain. As of September 2011, there were 2,010 restaurants operating system-wide in the United States, one U.S. territory and 14 other countries...
. Buzztime offers several different kinds of trivia games based on a variety of subjects, including pop culture, entertainment
Entertainment
Entertainment consists of any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time. Entertainment is generally passive, such as watching opera or a movie. Active forms of amusement, such as sports, are more often considered to be recreation...
, world history
World History
World History, Global History or Transnational history is a field of historical study that emerged as a distinct academic field in the 1980s. It examines history from a global perspective...
, geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
, sport
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
s and music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, as well as general trivia games with questions in many categories.
NTN Buzztime, Inc. is based in Carlsbad, California
Carlsbad, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Carlsbad had a population of 105,328. The population density was 2,693.1 people per square mile . The racial makeup of Carlsbad was 87,205 White, 1,379 African American, 514 Native American, 7,460 Asian, 198 Pacific Islander, 4,189 from other...
. The company was founded as Alroy Industries and formerly went by the name NTN Communications, Inc. from 1985 to 2005.
In January 2008 Buzztime Entertainment filed a legal suit against Sony Computer Entertainment Europe
Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. is a major video game company specializing in a variety of areas in the video game industry, and is a wholly owned subsidiary and part of the Consumer Products & Services Group of Sony...
alleging that Sony had violated several of its trademarks with its Buzz! series
Buzz!
Buzz! is a series of video games originated by Sleepydog Ltd., developed by Relentless Software and published by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable consoles. They are quiz games that see the players answering trivia questions while...
of video games. The suit accused Sony of a "malicious, fraudulent, knowing, wilful, and deliberate" violation of its trademarks. In the suit Buzztime is seeking the recall and destruction of all infringing products and is asking the court for actual damages, punitive damages, legal fees and an order to the US Patent and Trademark Office not to register Sony's pending Buzz trademarks.
How Buzztime works
After each game, the top 20 individual winners as well as the top 20 establishments on the entire network (based on an average of the five highest scores at that establishment—top six for Showdown) are broadcast
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
in a "Network Rankings" summary for each game. Many teams gather together in their respective establishments to partake in the battle of wits.
Many frequent Buzztime players are enrolled in the "Players Plus" program. Players earn Players Plus points by participating in a game, and can earn additional points by beating a target score that is given before the start of each game.
In the past, Buzztime trivia offerings were available over online services such as the now-defunct ImagiNation Network
ImagiNation Network
The ImagiNation Network , aka The Sierra Network , was an early online multiplayer gaming system. Developed by Sierra On-Line in 1989, and first available to the public in 1991, the ImagiNation Network was a unique online gaming network that gave subscribers from all over the United States of...
. Now, Buzztime trivia can be found on other platforms, such as an electronic home-system version and a mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
version.
In 2004, the company launched the Blast channel that is available to establishments that upgrade to the ITV2 system. (New Buzztime installations use the 2 channel ITV2 system.) This "Channel B" features the games Blackjack
Blackjack
Blackjack, also known as Twenty-one or Vingt-et-un , is the most widely played casino banking game in the world...
, Cutthroat
Cutthroat
Cutthroat is a three-player pocket billiards game, played on a pool table using cue sticks. Each player is assigned a set of numbered balls. The object is to be the last player with at least one ball still on the table...
(a form of billiards
Billiards
Cue sports , also known as billiard sports, are a wide variety of games of skill generally played with a cue stick which is used to strike billiard balls, moving them around a cloth-covered billiards table bounded by rubber .Historically, the umbrella term was billiards...
), Texas hold 'em
Texas hold 'em
Texas Hold 'em is a variation of the standard card game of poker. The game consists of two cards being dealt face down to each player and then five community cards being placed face-up by the dealer—a series of three then two additional single cards , with...
poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
, Shark Attack (similar to hangman
Hangman (game)
Hangman is a paper and pencil guessing game for two or more players. One player thinks of a word and the other tries to guess it by suggesting letters.-Overview:...
) and Crazy Golf, a miniature golf
Miniature golf
Miniature golf, or minigolf, is a miniature version of the sport of golf. While the international sports organization World Minigolf Sport Federation prefers to use the name "minigolf", the general public in different countries has also many other names for the game: miniature golf, mini-golf,...
-type game. It also can be used to broadcast some of the QB1 games, allowing the first channel to broadcast the trivia games.
In January 2006, the company renamed the NTN Network "Buzztime." Furthermore, the "Blast" brandname was discontinued. It also launched an expanded players' website, which features more-detailed player statistics and a phpBB
PhpBB
phpBB is a popular Internet forum package written in the PHP scripting language. The name "phpBB" is an abbreviation of PHP Bulletin Board...
-based forum. In 2009 a third "Channel C" all sports trivia channel was added to the system, but only 2 of the 3 channels (Trivia, Games or Sports) can be used simultaneously at a location. The Forum was discontinued in January, 2010 and replaced with a Blog.
Other products
NTN Buzztime used to produce a variety of wireless paging products, the most common example being a device that vibrates when a food order is ready. The wireless product division was sold in 2006.NTN Buzztime also once produced and distributed ProHost Seating and Reservations Software for managing door and floor operations in Restaurants, Casinos, Theme Parks, Hotels, in its Arlington, TX office- known as "Software Solutions". Signature customers include Harrah's Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Universal Studios and Hard Rock Cafe. The software solutions division was sold by NTN Buzztime, Inc. in 2007 to ESP Digital Media.