PLBY US Equity☆

ply-20221231

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022

OR

For transition period from to

Commission File Number 001-39312

PLBY GROUP, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

10960 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 2200

Los Angeles, California90024

(310)424-1800

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)

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

Title of each class Trading Symbol Name of each exchange on which registered

Common Stock, $0.0001 par value per share PLBY Nasdaq Global Market

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

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

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

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

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

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

Large accelerated filer ☐ Accelerated filer ☒

Non-accelerated filer ☐ Smaller reporting company ☐

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

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

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

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

The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of June 30, 2022, the last business day of the registrant's most recently completed second fiscal quarter, was approximately $218 million based upon the closing price reported for such date on the Nasdaq Global Market. As of March 10, 2023, there were 73,060,012 shares of the registrant's common stock outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the registrant’s definitive proxy statement for its 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, or Proxy Statement, to be filed within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K, are incorporated by reference in Part III. Except with respect to information specifically incorporated by reference in this Annual Report, the Proxy Statement shall not be deemed to be filed as part hereof.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Part I 5

Item 1. Business 5

Item 1A. Risk Factors 10

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 36

Item 2. Properties 36

Item 3. Legal Proceedings 36

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures 37

Item 6. [Reserved] 39

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk 56

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 58

Index to Consolidated Financial Statements 58

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (BDO USA, LLP) 59

Consolidated Statements of Operations 62

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss 63

Consolidated Balance Sheets 64

Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity 65

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows 66

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements 68

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures 107

Item 9B. Other Information 110

Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections 110

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 111

Item 11. Executive Compensation 111

Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services 111

Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules 112

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains statements that are forward-looking and as such are not historical facts. These statements are based on the expectations and beliefs of the management of PLBY Group, Inc. (the “Company,” “PLBY,” “we,” “us,” “our”) in light of historical results and trends, current conditions and potential future developments, and are subject to a number of factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include all statements other than historical fact, including statements about our future performance and opportunities; benefits of acquisitions and corporate transactions; statements of the plans, strategies and objectives of management for future operations; and statements regarding future economic conditions or performance. When used in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “strive,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, and include the assumptions that underlie such statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. When we discuss our strategies and/or plans, we are making projections, forecasts or forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on the beliefs of, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to, our management.

The forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are based on current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on the Company. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting the Company will be those that the Company has anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such differences include, but are not limited to: (1) the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company’s business; (2) the inability to maintain the listing of the Company’s shares of common stock on Nasdaq; (3) the risk that the Company’s completed or proposed transactions disrupt the Company’s current plans and/or operations, including the risk that the Company does not complete any such proposed transactions or achieve the expected benefits from any transactions; (4) the ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of corporate transactions, commercial collaborations, commercialization of digital assets and proposed transactions, which may be affected by, among other things, competition, the ability of the Company to grow and manage growth profitably, and the Company's ability to retain its key employees; (5) costs related to being a public company, corporate transactions, commercial collaborations and proposed transactions; (6) changes in applicable laws or regulations; (7) the possibility that the Company may be adversely affected by global hostilities, supply chain delays, inflation, interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates or other economic, business, and/or competitive factors; (8) risks relating to the uncertainty of the projected financial information of the Company, including changes in the Company's estimates of the fair value of certain of our intangible assets, including goodwill; (9) risks related to the organic and inorganic growth of the Company’s businesses, and the timing of expected business milestones; (10) changing demand or shopping patterns for the Company's products and services; (11) failure of licensees, suppliers or other third-parties to fulfill their obligations to the Company; (12) the Company's ability to comply with the terms of its indebtedness and other obligations; (13) changes in financing markets or the inability of the Company to obtain financing on attractive terms; and (14) other risks and uncertainties indicated in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including those under “Item 1A. Risk Factors.” Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of the Company’s assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. The Company cautions that the foregoing list of factors is not exclusive, and readers should not place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K speak only as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K or any earlier date specified for such statements. We do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in our expectations or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statement is based, except as may be required under applicable law. All subsequent written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on the Company’s behalf are qualified in their entirety by this Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.

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PART I

Item 1. Business

Unless otherwise indicated or the context otherwise requires, references in this section to the “Company”, “we”, “us”, “our” and other similar terms refer to Playboy Enterprises, Inc. (“Playboy”) and its consolidated subsidiaries prior to Playboy's February 10, 2021 business combination with Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp (the “Business Combination”), and to PLBY Group, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries after giving effect to the Business Combination.

Overview

We are a pleasure and leisure company. We provide consumers around the world with products, content and experiences that help them lead happier, healthier and more fulfilling lives. Our flagship consumer brand, Playboy, is one of the most recognizable brands in the world, driving billions of dollars annually in global consumer spending with products and content available in approximately 180 countries.

Our mission — to create a culture where all people can pursue pleasure — builds upon almost seven decades of creating groundbreaking media and hospitality experiences and fighting for cultural progress rooted in the core values of equality, freedom of expression and the idea that pleasure is a fundamental human right.

Driven by our cause of “Pleasure for All,” our goal is to build the leading pleasure and leisure lifestyle platform for all people around the world.

For the fiscal years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, our consolidated revenue was $266.9 million and $246.6 million, respectively, and our consolidated net loss was $277.7 million and $77.7 million, respectively. Our consolidated net loss for the year ended December 31, 2022 was largely driven by non-cash asset impairment charges of $308.2 million related to the write-down of goodwill, trademarks and certain other assets in the third quarter of 2022.

Our Products

Our products and content connect consumers to a lifestyle of pleasure and leisure. Our offerings help consumers around the world look good, feel good, and enjoy their lives. Our offerings are focused on areas where nearly 70 years of building consumer trust give us a unique position to lead:

•Sexual Wellness is a category that encompasses products, content and experiences that enable a state of physical, emotional, mental, and social sexual health and fulfillment. Offerings include products that enhance sexual experience, lingerie, bedroom accessories and intimacy products, as well as offerings that improve sexual health. Our sexual wellness offerings today include lingerie, intimates and other adult products.

•Style and Apparel includes a variety of apparel and accessories products for men and women globally, including one of the leading men’s apparel brands in China, and collaborations with fashion and streetwear brands such as PacSun, Yves Saint Laurent and Lids available to consumers in the US and UK. Our style and apparel offerings build on seven decades of standing for free expression.

•Digital Entertainment and Lifestyle is a category that encompasses all the ways we stand for sophisticated, fun and leisure-filled living. Our content creator platform on playboy.com lets customers interact directly with influencers and other creators that generate their own array of content. Playboy programming distributed through various websites and domestic and international TV providers offers on-demand entertainment. Our spirits joint venture, Playboy Spirits, offers premium spirits under the Rare Hare brand, while playboy.com sells a variety of home goods and personal accessories. Collaborations with strategic partners in the nightlife, hospitality, metaverse, and digital casino and online gaming industries allow our customers to further experience the Playboy lifestyle in-person and from their electronic devices.

•Beauty and Grooming builds on our long role serving as a platform for beauty and the brand’s commercial success in the fragrance category. Today, we approach this category through the lens of confidence, providing our consumers with products and content that inspire body positivity and creative expression. With strong adjacency to Sexual Wellness, Beauty and Grooming offerings include men's and women’s skincare, haircare, bath and body, grooming, cosmetics and fragrance. These offerings are primarily delivered by our strategic licensing partners, and some products are offered for resale on playboy.com.

Each of the foregoing categories represent very large and growing markets, providing us with significant opportunities for growth from the increased sales of our current products, as well as through the introduction of new products within these categories.

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Our Business Segments

We generate revenue through the sales of our products to consumers around the world. We employ multiple business models, including brand licensing, direct-to-consumer and third-party retail sales, and digital sales and subscriptions, to help maximize the value of our assets and promote long-term revenue and profitability growth. We report on our business operations in three segments:

•Licensing, including licensing our brand to third parties for products, services, venues, online gaming and events.

•Direct-to-Consumer, including sales of third-party products through our owned-and-operated e-commerce platforms, and sales of our proprietary products through our platforms and/or third-party retailers; and

•Digital Subscriptions and Content, including revenues generated from the sales of creator offerings to consumers on playboy.com, the sale of subscriptions to Playboy programming, which is distributed through various channels, including websites and domestic and international TV, and the sales of tokenized digital art and collectibles.

Licensing

We license the Playboy name, Rabbit Head Design, and other trademarks and related properties to partners around the world. Our licensing agreements permit licensees the right to use certain Playboy trademarks for certain categories of products in certain territories for a fee, which is typically a royalty calculated as a percentage of net revenue from wholesale and/or retail sales of such products, subject to an annual, bi-annual or quarterly minimum royalty payment. Our top five license agreements range from three to ten years in length and generated approximately $46.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. As of December 31, 2022, our licensing contracts included future royalty guarantee payments of approximately $345.5 million through 2031, assuming no renewals of such contracts.

Creative Artists Agency, a brand agency with significant global reach and infrastructure, acts as our exclusive licensing agent for the Playboy brand trademarks and intellectual property for consumer products in a broad range of categories in most of the world. We are entering into a joint venture, Playboy China Limited, with Charactopia Licensing Limited, a Fung Retailing brand management company, representing many global brands in China, to jointly own and operate the Playboy licensed business in China (including Hong Kong and Macau). We expect the Playboy China joint venture to invigorate our China-market Playboy apparel business, including online and offline retail strategies, product design and assortment, and brand marketing to its multi-generational audience.

During the year ended December 31, 2022, our Licensing segment contributed $60.9 million in revenue and $74.0 million in operating loss, which was due to $116.0 million of non-cash impairment charges on Playboy-branded trademarks in the third quarter of 2022.

Direct-to-Consumer

Our owned digital commerce retail platforms include playboy.com,honeybirdette.com and Honey Birdette retail stores (as of August 9, 2021), yandy.com, and loversstores.com and Lovers retail stores (as of March 1, 2021). We manage the inventory and shipping for our owned digital and retail commerce channels through a combination of our own warehouse and fulfillment centers and through third-party logistics centers, providing a flexible and scalable base from which to continue the expansion of our direct-to-consumer sales platform model. In addition to our owned channels, we have actively expanded the third-party sales of our proprietary products across major retailers in Western markets.

During the year ended December 31, 2022, our Direct-to-Consumer segment contributed $186.6 million in revenue and $207.0 million in operating loss, of which $184.8 million was due to non-cash impairment charges on certain of our intangible assets, including goodwill, in the third quarter of 2022. See Item 7, Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations--Key Factors and Trends Affecting Our Business, for additional matters that affect our consumer products business, including seasonality.

Digital Subscriptions and Content

Our Digital Subscriptions and Content today comprise our creator-led platform on playboy.com (initially launched in December 2021), non-fungible token (“NFTs”) art and collectibles offerings (initially launched in early 2021), and Playboy’s adult content offerings, including playboyplus.com and playboy.tv.

Playboy-branded digital content offerings reach more than 150,000 subscribers and users across Playboy-managed digital platforms. In addition, Playboy TV is offered through leading MSOs (multiple-system operators) around the globe, including U.S. MSOs DIRECTV, Comcast, Dish, Charter, Cox, Altice, and Mediacom. Pursuant to its agreements with the MSOs, Playboy programs the Playboy TV and typically receives a royalty based on the numbers of subscribers to the service.

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During the year ended December 31, 2022, our Digital Subscriptions and Content segment contributed $18.7 million in revenue and $13.0 million of operating loss, of which $4.9 million was related to non-cash impairment of our crypto assets and certain other assets.

Our Strategy

We aim to build the leading pleasure and leisure lifestyle platform for all people around the world. In 2021 and 2022, we built up our direct-to-consumer business, including expanding our licensing categories, and developed our digital capabilities, including launching our creator platform. As of 2023, we will pursue a commercial strategy that relies on a more capital-light model focused on revenue streams with higher margin and higher growth potential. We will do this by leveraging our flagship Playboy brand to attract best-in-class strategic partners and scale our creator platform with influencers who embody our brands aspirational lifestyle.

We will refocus our three key growth pillars: first, strategically expanding our licensing business in key categories and territories. Our Playboy China joint venture is expected to invigorate our China-market Playboy apparel business, building on Playboy’s current roster of licensees and online storefronts by adding new licensees. We will continue to use our licensing business as a marketing tool and brand builder, in particular through our high-end designer collaborations and our large-scale partnerships with partners such as PacSun. Second, investing in our Playboy digital platform as we return to our roots as a place to see and be seen for creators and up and coming cultural influencers. Third, building upon Honey Birdette’s existing high margin retail business by expanding the brand in the United States.

Our content creator-led platform dedicated to creative freedom, artistic expression and sex positivity, is the cornerstone of our digital strategy. Creators’ fans can subscribe or pay to view exclusive content, message with Playboy creators directly, and receive special access to their daily lives in a manner they cannot do anywhere else. Top creators earn special opportunities throughout the Playboy ecosystem including Playboy photo shoots, fashion design collaborations and the opportunity to serve as Playboy fashion ambassadors.

Our Competition

We operate in the consumer goods space across a variety of different industries and face competition from broad direct-to-consumer platforms such as Amazon, as well as brands and retailers that are more targeted to particular markets. In the men’s apparel space in China, we compete with other leading men’s apparel brands such as Uniqlo, Semir, Levi’s, Nautica and Lacoste on the breadth and quality of our products, and in Western markets, our apparel collaborations and owned and operated e-commerce business compete with retailers and brands more focused on lingerie, costumes, accessories and streetwear. In the sexual wellness industry, we compete with lingerie brands and e-commerce businesses such as La Perla, Fleur du Mal, Victoria’s Secret and AdoreMe, and other suppliers of products in this fragmented and rapidly growing space, as well as with Sexual Wellness e-commerce platforms and brick and mortar retail chains, such as Lovehoney, Fashion Nova and Adam & Eve. Our digital products and services compete with social content and creator-led platforms and providers of digital art, collectibles and paid and free adult content, and our digital games compete with other real-money and social casino-style games available in the iOS and Android app stores. We compete with much larger companies, including the brands referenced above, that have significantly greater financial and operational resources and pose meaningful competitive challenges. However, we believe we have successfully competed, and will continue to do so, with such companies because of our strong brands with extensive consumer followings, high quality products and relationships with creators and influencers that we have developed.

Our Corporate History

Playboy was founded in 1953 as a men’s lifestyle magazine. Over the following decades, Playboy grew into a leader and pioneer in the entertainment, hospitality, and licensing businesses.

From 1973 to 2011, Playboy's stock was publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Playboy’s current corporate entity, Playboy Enterprises, Inc., was incorporated in the State of Delaware in April 1998. On March 4, 2011, Icon Merger Sub, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Icon Acquisition Holdings, L.P. (“Icon”), an affiliate of Rizvi Traverse Management, LLC, successfully completed its offer to purchase all of the issued and outstanding shares of Playboy, which was further reorganized effective August 14, 2018. As part of the restructuring, Icon was dissolved and liquidated its equity interest in Playboy to its members, consisting of RT-ICON Holdings LLC (with its affiliates, "RT") and the Hugh M. Hefner 1991 Trust (the “Trust”), resulting in RT holding 3,034,192 shares of common stock in Playboy and the Trust holding 1,868,910 shares of common stock in Playboy. The Trust then sold to Playboy, and Playboy redeemed, all of the common stock in Playboy held by the Trust for a total of $35 million.

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On February 10, 2021, we consummated the transactions contemplated by that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of September 30, 2020 (the “Merger Agreement”), by and among Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp (“MCAC”), MCAC Merger Sub Inc. (“Merger Sub”), and Playboy, and Suying Liu. Pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement, Playboy merged with and into Merger Sub, with Playboy surviving the merger as a wholly-owned subsidiary of MCAC, and MCAC changed its name to “PLBY Group, Inc.” upon consummation of the Business Combination.

Over the past several years, we have undertaken a process of transforming and streamlining our business model to transition Playboy’s primary business from a print and digital media entity, generating advertising and sponsorship revenues, to our primarily commerce business which markets consumer products and digital content.

In December 2019, we acquired the assets of yandy.com, a leading online retailer of lingerie, dresses, costumes and accessories, as part of the expansion of our proprietary sales platform. In March 2021, we acquired TLA Acquisition Corp., the parent company of the Lovers family of stores, a leading omni-channel online and brick-and-mortar sexual wellness chain. In August 2021, we acquired Honey Birdette (Aust) Pty Limited, owner of the luxury lingerie brand Honey Birdette. In October 2021, we acquired GlowUp Digital Inc., owner of the Dream platform that was redeveloped as the technology foundation for our curated and creator-led platform on playboy.com, which initially launched in December 2021 under the Centerfold name. We are entering into a Playboy-controlled joint venture, Playboy China Limited, for the operation of the Playboy licensed business in China (including Hong Kong and Macau).

Our Team

We seek to recruit, retain, and incentivize highly talented existing and future employees. We believe that creating a respectful and inclusive environment where team members can be themselves and be supported is critical to attracting, developing and retaining talent. A set of fundamental values guide our thinking and actions both inside the company and as we pursue our mission through our interaction with our consumers and our partners around the world. We created these values with the goal of holding ourselves accountable, of preserving what is special, and to inspire and guide ourselves moving forward as we grow and take on new challenges. We believe staying true to these values will drive the long-term value we create in consumers’ lives.

Our Employees

As of December 31, 2022, we had 497 full-time and full-time-equivalent employees and 566 part-time employees. None of the employees are represented by a labor union. Our team values support our employee relations, which we believe to be positive and productive. We promote the well-being of our employees through programs and benefits that support physical health, financial security and good morale.

Our Values

Do You (But Do No Harm). We’re authentic to who we are. We say what we mean, and we mean what we say. We create a safe and encouraging environment for others to do the same, bringing their authentic selves forward. We welcome and value varying perspectives and opinions, and we assume best intentions. We celebrate and bring out the best in each other. We pay attention to others discomfort. We respect boundaries. And we fiercely believe that our diversity positions us for greater success and impact in the world.

Embrace the Next Challenge. We have a growth mindset. We don’t let ourselves get too comfortable. We are constantly questioning our existing knowledge and recognize that our blind spots are bigger than we think. We actively seek out opportunities to learn. We come from a place of curiosity. The next challenge may be in a place we’ve never thought to look, and we leverage a vast diversity of perspectives to find it. We know we can always do better, and good enough is not enough. We believe in questioning taboos. We are bold and thoughtful in challenging the status quo and finding fault in the default, even when it seems we are alone. We are okay with uncertainty, and we aim to adapt quickly and be resourceful in an ever-changing environment.

Debate, Then Commit. We take the time to make sure we are informed. We provide a platform and make space for the different voices in the room, ask thoughtful questions, and consider all angles before coming to a conclusion. We question everything. We engage in self-reflection, and we recognize and share openly when we are wrong. We are solutions oriented. We take an active approach to solving problems and coming to decisions rather than fixating on them. We passionately discuss ideas but respect when a decision is reached and abide by the process to execute it. We communicate decisions thoroughly and thoughtfully.

Be a Leader. We develop and exercise inclusive leadership. So, everyone knows they belong, and equitable treatment is our standard. We recognize that trust, respect, and responsibility go hand-in-hand and must be heard. With that, it is up to each of us to earn that responsibility every day. We listen first, ask questions, speak up and are accountable for our work (and our mistakes). We help others feel confident and comfortable doing the same. We take initiative. We don’t wait for things to happen to us or wait to be told. We are willing to wear many hats and roll our sleeves up when others need help, even if it means working outside our job description. We lead by example.

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Stay Playful. We are a fun team and though we often deal with heavy subject matter, we recognize the importance of a playful spirit and a positive outlook. We realize that we are a work in progress, and that we won’t always get it right the first time. We pride ourselves in being able to pick ourselves up, be positive about our mistakes (while learning from them) and move forward. We celebrate creativity and the importance of trying new things out. We know you to have a good time and we understand boundaries. We celebrate each other. We value our time both in and out of work.

Government Regulation

In connection with the products we provide, we must comply with various laws and regulations from federal, state, local and foreign regulatory agencies. We believe that we are in material compliance with regulatory requirements applicable to our business. These regulatory requirements include, without limitation:

•federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations involving minimum wage, health care, overtime, sick leave, lunch and rest breaks and other similar wage, benefits and hour requirements and other similar laws;

•Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act and regulations of the U.S. Department of Labor, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the equivalent state agencies and other similar laws;

•alcohol beverage marketing regulations, custom and import matters with respect to products imported to and exported from the United States;

•the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the UK Bribery Act and other similar anti-bribery and anti- kickback laws and regulations that generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business; and

•federal, state and foreign anticorruption, data protection, privacy, consumer protection, content regulation and other laws and regulations, including without limitation, GDPR and the CCPA.

Our failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations could adversely affect the Company. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors” for additional information regarding regulatory risks to the Company.

Intellectual Property

We own various trademarks, copyrights and software comprising our intellectual property holdings including, without limitation, the “Playboy” name, the “RABBIT HEAD DESIGN” logo, the “Yandy” name, the “Lovers” name and the “Honey Birdette” name.

We currently have active trademark registrations in more than 150 countries for our key trademarks, including variations of the PLAYBOY and the RABBIT HEAD DESIGN logo, which are typically the core intellectual property we license pursuant to our licensing agreements and use on our branded consumer products. Trademark registrations typically allow us to exclusively use or permit licensed use of the marks in the product categories in which they are registered. These registrations are typically valid for 10 years from the original date of registration or the date of renewal. When these registrations become due for renewal, we typically renew them unless the registrations have become redundant due to overlapping coverage from other existing registered marks or they cover marks or categories that we no longer actively use or have plans to use in the future. Most jurisdictions allow for an unlimited number of renewals provided that the criteria to apply for renewal are met in the applicable jurisdiction.

Available Information

We are required to file Annual Reports on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on a regular basis, and are required to disclose certain material events in a Current Report on Form 8-K. The SEC maintains a website that contains our periodic reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding us that we file electronically with the SEC. The SEC’s website is located at http://www.sec.gov.

Our website is www.plbygroup.com. We make available, free of charge, on our investor relations website, www.plbygroup.com/investors, our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. We may use our website to disclose material information and comply with our disclosure obligations under Regulation Fair Disclosure promulgated by the SEC. Such disclosures are provided on our website at www.plbygroup.com, including under its “Events and Presentations” and “Press Releases” sections, among others. Accordingly, investors should monitor this portion of our website, in addition to following our press releases, SEC filings, public conference calls and webcasts. The information on, or that can be accessed through, our website is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K and is not part of this report.

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Item 1A. Risk Factors

An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this Annual Report, before making a decision to invest in our securities. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties that we are unaware of, or that we currently believe are not material, may also become important factors that adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results. Unless the context otherwise requires, all references in this subsection to the “Company,” “we”, “us” or “our” refer to PLBY Group, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries following the Business Combination, which was completed on February 10, 2021, other than certain historical information which refers to the business of Playboy prior to the consummation of the Business Combination.

Summary of Risk Factors

We have in the past been adversely affected by certain of, and may in the future be materially and adversely affected by, the following risks:

•our ability to maintain the value and reputation of the Playboy brand;

•operating in highly competitive industries;

•our ability to anticipate changes in the market for our products and rapidly adapt;

•our ability to obtain, maintain and protect our intellectual property rights, in particular trademarks and copyrights;

•business constraints, negative publicity, lawsuits and boycotts as a result of our business involving the provision of products with adult or sexually explicit content;

•material weaknesses identified with respect to our internal controls over financial reporting;

•potential impairments of our intangible assets;

•potential limitations on the use of our net operating losses;

•various taxation related risks in multiple jurisdictions;

•potential systems failures or network access challenges experienced by our digital operations;

•our exposure to data security and privacy risks;

•compliance with payment processor requirements and government regulations;

•challenges relating to operations and expansion outside of the U.S.;

•litigation expenses and potential adverse results;

•the costs to the Company and management's time needed to comply with public company requirements;

•our ability to attract and retain key employees and hire qualified management and personnel;

•difficulties in pursuing and completing corporate transactions on economically acceptable terms;

•realizing the business benefits of our strategic objectives, including through joint ventures, dispositions or other strategic transactions;

•integration risks relating to corporate transactions and other strategic opportunities;

•limitations imposed by our debt and other financial obligations;

•our ability to attract and retain new customers and subscribers through our marketing efforts;

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•the demand for our products;

•the COVID-19 pandemic;

•changing global economic conditions and standards, including with respect to interest rates;

•our ability to manage the various licensing and selling models in our operations;

•the concentration of a substantial portion of our licensing revenue with a limited number of licensees and retail partners;

•our dependence on third parties to help operate certain aspects of our e-commerce business;

•regulatory, cybersecurity and impairment risks related to the holding of digital assets;

•the adoption, implementation and performance of new enterprise systems;

•increasing competition for and changing dynamics in the marketplace for our adult content, digital and consumer products;

•our ability to maintain our agreements with multiple system operators and direct-to-home operators on favorable terms;

•our ability to identify, fund investment in and commercially exploit new technology;

•shifts in consumer behavior as a result of technological innovations and changes in the distribution and consumption of content; and

•our ability to meet the listing requirements to be listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market and maintain the listing of our securities in the future.

Risks Related to Our Business and Industry

Our success depends on our ability to maintain the value and reputation of the Playboy brand.

Our success depends on the value and reputation of the Playboy brand. The Playboy name is integral to our business as well as to the implementation of our strategies for expanding our business. Maintaining, promoting, and positioning our brand will depend largely on the success of our marketing and merchandising efforts and our ability to provide a consistent, high quality product and customer experience.

We rely on social media, as one of our marketing strategies, to have a positive impact on both our brand value and reputation. Our brand and reputation could be adversely affected if we fail to achieve these objectives, if our public image was to be tarnished by negative publicity, which could be amplified by social media, if we fail to deliver innovative and high-quality products and experiences acceptable to our customers, or if we face or mishandle a product recall.

We license our brand to third parties to use in connection with various goods and services, subject to our approval. Our financial condition could be negatively impacted if any such third parties use our brand in a manner that adversely reflects on our businesses or our brand.

Additionally, while we devote considerable efforts and resources to protecting our intellectual property, if these efforts are not successful, the value of our brand may be adversely affected. Any detrimental impact to our brand and reputation could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition.

Our businesses operate in highly competitive industries.

The consumer products, digital entertainment and creator content platform markets in which we operate are highly competitive. The ability of our businesses to compete in each of these industries successfully depends on a number of factors, including our ability to consistently supply high quality and popular products and content, adapt to new technologies and distribution platforms, maintain our brand reputation and produce new and successful products and content. There can be no assurance that we will be able to compete successfully in the future against existing or new competitors, or that increasing competition will not result in price reductions, reduced margins or loss of market share, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. Additionally, many of our competitors, including apparel and personal goods retailers, large entertainment and media enterprises and well-established social media and other creator content platforms have greater technical, operational, financial and human resources than we do. We cannot assure you that we can remain competitive with companies that have greater resources or that offer alternative product, entertainment or content offerings.

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The market for our physical and digital products is changing rapidly, and unless we are able to anticipate these changes and rapidly adapt, we will lose market share.

Our strategy to grow our online and “brick and mortar” retail businesses depend on many factors, including, among others, our ability to develop and maintain effective e-commerce platforms, identify desirable store locations, negotiate acceptable lease terms, hire, train and retain a reliable workforce of sales, distribution and other operational personnel, successfully integrate stores into our existing control structure, enterprise systems and operations, including our information technology systems, and coordinate well with our digital platforms and wholesale customers to minimize the competition within our sales channels. As we expand into new geographic areas, we need to successfully identify and satisfy the consumer preferences in these areas. In addition, we need to address competitive, merchandising, marketing, distribution and other challenges encountered in connection with any expansion. Finally, we cannot ensure that our e-commerce platforms or physical stores will be well received and achieve intended net sales or profitability levels. If our consumer products businesses fail to achieve, or are unable to sustain, acceptable net sales and profitability levels, our business overall may be adversely impacted and we may incur significant costs associated with such business.

In addition, online usage and digital entertainment is changing rapidly as technological advancements allow the deployment of more advanced and interactive multimedia website and digital application offerings, and the Internet and mobile device usage have resulted in new digital distribution channels. As a result, we have to rapidly develop new digital business models, including digital content and distribution models, that will allow us to otherwise capitalize on our growing content creator platform and large library of titles that we own and license.

Unless we are able to effectively modify our business model to compete with the products offered through physical and online retailers and content offered digitally on the Internet or elsewhere, our market share, revenues and profits from such offerings could decrease. Although we are currently developing new products and growing our content creator community, no assurance can be given that we will remain competitive in the industries we compete in. Our future success will depend, in part, on our ability to adapt to rapidly changing technologies, to enhance existing product offerings and to develop and introduce a variety of new products and content to address changing demands of our consumers.

If we are unable to obtain, maintain and protect our intellectual property rights, in particular trademarks and copyrights, our ability to compete could be negatively impacted.

Our intellectual property rights, particularly our trademarks in the Playboy name and Rabbit Head Design, are valuable assets of our business and are critical to our success, growth potential and competitive position. Although certain of the intellectual property we use is registered in the U.S. and in many of the foreign countries in which we operate, there can be no assurances with respect to the continuation of such intellectual property rights, including our ability to further register, use or defend key current or future trademarks. Further, applicable law may provide only limited and uncertain protection, particularly in emerging markets, such as China.

Furthermore, we may not apply for, or be unable to obtain, intellectual property protection for certain aspects of our business. Third parties have in the past, and could in the future, bring infringement, invalidity, co-inventorship, re-examination, opposition or similar claims with respect to our current or future intellectual property. Any such claims, whether or not successful, could be costly to defend, may not be sufficiently covered by any indemnification provisions to which we are party, divert management’s attention and resources, damage our reputation and brands, and adversely impact our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, as well as the trading price of our securities.

In addition, third parties may distribute and sell counterfeit (or grey market) versions of our products, which may be inferior or pose safety risks and could confuse consumers or customers, which could cause them to refrain from purchasing our brands in the future or otherwise damage our reputation. The presence of counterfeit versions of our products in the market and of prestige products in mass distribution channels could also dilute the value of our brands, force us and our distributors to compete with heavily discounted products, cause us to be in breach of contract (including license agreements), impact our compliance with distribution and competition laws in jurisdictions including the E.U. and China, or otherwise have a negative impact on our reputation and business, prospects, financial condition or results of operations.

In order to protect or enforce our intellectual property and other proprietary rights, we may initiate litigation or other proceedings against third parties, such as infringement suits, opposition proceedings or interference proceedings. Any lawsuits or proceedings that we initiate could be expensive, take significant time and divert management’s attention from other business concerns, adversely impact customer relations and we may not be successful. Litigation and other proceedings may also put our intellectual property at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly. The occurrence of any of these events may have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, as well as the trading price of our securities.

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Our success depends on our ability to operate our business without infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating the intellectual property of third parties.

Our commercial success depends in part on our ability to operate without infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating the trademarks, patents, copyrights and other proprietary rights of third parties. However, we cannot be certain that the conduct of our business does not and will not infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate such rights. Moreover, our acquisition targets and other businesses in which we may make strategic investments are often smaller or younger companies with less robust intellectual property clearance practices, and we may face challenges on the use of their trademarks and other proprietary rights.

If we are found to be infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating a third-party trademark, patent, copyright or other proprietary rights, we may need to obtain a license, which may not be available in a timely manner on commercially reasonable terms or at all, or redesign or rebrand our products, which may not be possible or result in a significant delay to market or otherwise have an adverse commercial impact. We may also be required to pay substantial damages or be subject to a court order prohibiting us and our customers from selling certain products or engaging in certain activities, which could therefore have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows, as well as the trading price of our securities.

Our business includes the provision of sexually explicit content which can create negative publicity, lawsuits and boycotts.

Our business includes providing adult-oriented, sexually explicit and provocative products worldwide. Many people regard such business as unwholesome. Various national and local governments, along with religious and children’s advocacy groups, consistently propose and enact legislation to restrict the provision of, access to, and content of such entertainment. These groups also often file lawsuits against providers of adult products and content, encourage boycotts against such providers and mount negative publicity campaigns. In this regard, some of our distribution outlets, have from time-to-time been the target of groups who seek to limit the availability of our products because of their content. We expect to continue to be subject to these activities.

The adult-oriented content of our websites, including our creator platform, may also subject us to obscenity or other legal claims by third parties. We may also be subject to claims based upon the content that is available on our websites through links to other sites and in jurisdictions that we have not previously distributed content in. Implementing measures to reduce our exposure to this liability may require us to take steps that would substantially limit the attractiveness of our websites and other distribution channels and/or their availability in various geographic areas, which could negatively impact their ability to generate revenue.

In addition, some investors, investment banks, market makers, lenders and others in the investment community may refuse to participate in the market for our common stock, financings or other activities due to the nature of our adult business. These refusals may negatively impact the value of our common stock and our opportunities to attract market support.

Companies providing products and services on which we rely may refuse to do business with us because some of our products contain adult content.

Some companies that provide products and services we need may be concerned that associating with us could lead to their becoming the target of negative publicity campaigns by public interest groups and boycotts of their products and services. As a result of these concerns, these companies may be reluctant to enter into or continue business relationships with us. There can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain our existing business relationships with the companies, domestic or international, that currently provide us with services and products. Our inability to maintain such business relationships, or to find replacement service providers, could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. We could be forced to enter into business arrangements on terms less favorable to us than we might otherwise obtain, which could lead to our doing business with less competitive terms, higher transaction costs and more inefficient operations than if we were able to maintain such business relationships or find replacement service providers.

If we are unable to advertise on certain platforms because of our brand or products, our revenue could be adversely impacted.

Some companies that operate websites and offline media, including search engines and social media platforms, on which we would like to advertise our products, and provide direct purchasing capabilities, may be reluctant or refuse to allow such advertising due to the adult nature of certain of our products and the history of our brand. Our inability to access or advertise on such platforms could make it more difficult for us to reach a broad audience, which could limit sales of our products, and reduce the value of our brand. Our existing competitors, as well as potential new competitors, may not face such obstacles and be able to undertake more extensive marketing campaigns and reach a broader consumer base, making it more difficult for us to compete with them with similar products.

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We have experienced, and may continue to experience, seasonality in our revenues, which may result in volatility in our financial results.

While we receive revenue throughout the year, our businesses have experienced, and may continue to experience, seasonality. For example, our licensing business under our consumer products business have historically experienced higher receipts in its first and third fiscal quarters due to the licensing fee structure in our licensing agreements, which typically require advance payment of such fees during those quarters, but such payments can be subject to extensions or delays. Our direct-to-consumer business have historically experienced higher sales in the fourth quarter due to the U.S. holiday season, including Halloween, but changing market conditions and demand could affect such sales. To the extent that we continue to experience seasonality, or there are material changes in our seasonal business and revenues, such factors may result in volatility in our financial results.

We have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. Failure to achieve and maintain effective internal controls over financial reporting could adversely affect our ability to report our results of operations and financial condition accurately and in a timely manner, which could have an adverse impact on our business.

Since becoming a public company, ensuring that we have adequate internal financial and accounting controls and procedures in place to produce accurate financial statements on a timely basis has become costly and a time-consuming effort. In addition, the rapid growth of our operations has created a need for additional resources within the accounting and finance functions in order to produce timely financial information and to ensure the level of segregation of duties customary for a U.S. public company.

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”). Our management is also required, on a quarterly basis, to evaluate the effectiveness of our internal controls and to disclose any changes and material weaknesses identified. 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 in our annual or interim consolidated financial statements might not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. As described in Item 9A of this Annual Report, there were several material weaknesses identified in our internal control over financial reporting.

We are working to develop and implement a remediation plan as soon as practicable. Our remediation plan, which is continuing to be developed, can only be accomplished over time, and these initiatives may not accomplish their intended effects. Failure to maintain our internal control over financial reporting could adversely impact our ability to report our financial position and results from operations on a timely and accurate basis. Likewise, if our financial statements are not filed on a timely basis, we could be subject to regulatory actions, legal proceedings or investigations by Nasdaq, the SEC or other regulatory authorities, which could result in a material adverse effect on our business and/or we may not be able to maintain compliance with certain of our agreements. Ineffective internal controls could also cause investors to lose confidence in our financial reporting, which could have a negative effect on our stock price, business strategies and ability to raise capital.

Even after the remediation of our material weaknesses, our management does not expect that our internal controls ever will prevent or detect all errors and all fraud. 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. No evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that misstatements due to error or fraud will not occur or that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within the business will have been detected.

We have a significant amount of intangible assets, including our trademarks and digital assets, recorded on our consolidated balance sheet. As a result of changes in market conditions and declines in the estimated fair value of these assets, we may be required to record impairments of our intangible assets in the future which could adversely affect our results of operations.

As of December 31, 2022, our indefinite-lived intangible assets, including digital assets and goodwill, represented $339.6 million, or 61% of our total consolidated assets. Under GAAP, indefinite-lived intangible assets are not amortized, but instead are subject to impairment evaluation based on related estimated fair values, with such testing to be done at least annually. We review our trademarks and digital assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. Any write-down of intangible assets resulting from future periodic evaluations would, as applicable, either decrease our net income or increase our net loss, and those decreases or increases could be material.

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Our use of certain tax attributes may be limited.

We had significant net operating losses (“NOLs”) as of December 31, 2022. In the U.S. we had $298.0 million of federal NOLs available to carryforward to future periods, of which $182.0 million will begin expiring in 2028, and we had $109.0 million of state and local NOLs available to carryforward to future periods, of which $5.0 million can be carried forward indefinitely. In Australia, we also had $5.7 million of NOLs available to carryforward indefinitely. The statute of limitations for tax years 2017 and forward remains open to examination by the major U.S. taxing jurisdictions to which we are subject. The statute of limitations for tax year 2016 and forward remain open to examination in Australia. In addition, due to the NOL carryforward provision, tax authorities continue to have the ability to adjust the amount of our carryforward. Furthermore, as discussed below, the limitations on the use of the NOLs under Section 382 could affect our ability to use NOLs to offset future taxable income.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the "Tax Act"), which was enacted on December 22, 2017, changed the rules governing U.S. federal NOL carryforwards. For federal NOL carryforwards arising in tax years beginning after December 31, 2017, the Tax Act limited a taxpayer’s ability to utilize such carryforwards to 80% of taxable income, which can be carried forward indefinitely, but carryback is generally prohibited. Federal NOL carryforwards generated by us before January 1, 2018 will continue to have a twenty-year carryforward period and will not be subject to the taxable income limitation.

We are subject to taxation related risks in multiple jurisdictions.

We are a U.S.-based multinational company subject to tax in multiple U.S. and foreign tax jurisdictions. Significant judgment is required in determining our global provision for income taxes, deferred tax assets or liabilities and in evaluating our tax positions on a worldwide basis. While we believe our tax positions are consistent with the tax laws in the jurisdictions in which we conduct our business, it is possible that these positions may be challenged by jurisdictional tax authorities, which may have a significant impact on our global provision for income taxes.

Tax laws are being re-examined and evaluated globally. New laws and interpretations of the law are taken into account for financial statement purposes in the quarter or year that they become applicable. Tax authorities are increasingly scrutinizing the tax positions of companies. Many countries in the European Union, as well as a number of other countries and organizations such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, are actively considering changes to existing tax laws that, if enacted, could increase our tax obligations in countries where we do business. If U.S. or other foreign tax authorities change applicable tax laws, our overall taxes could increase, and our business, financial condition or results of operations may be adversely impacted.

Our digital operations are subject to systems failures.

The uninterrupted performance of our computer systems is critical to the operations of our websites. Our computer systems are located at external third-party sites, and, as such, may be vulnerable to fire, loss of power, telecommunications failures and other similar catastrophes. In addition, we may have to restrict access to our websites to solve problems caused by computer viruses or other system failures. Our customers may become dissatisfied by any disruption or failure of our computer systems that interrupts our ability to provide our content. Repeated system failures could substantially reduce the attractiveness of our websites and/or interfere with commercial transactions, negatively affecting our ability to generate revenues. Our websites must accommodate a high volume of traffic and deliver regularly updated content. Our sites have, on occasion, experienced slow response times and network failures. These types of occurrences in the future could cause users to perceive our websites as not functioning properly and therefore induce them to frequent websites other than ours. We are also subject to risks from failures in computer systems other than our own because our customers depend on their own Internet service providers for access to our sites. Our revenues could be negatively affected by outages or other difficulties customers experience in accessing our websites due to Internet service providers’ system disruptions or similar failures unrelated to our systems. Our insurance policies may not adequately compensate us for any losses that may occur due to any failures in our Internet systems or the systems of our customers’ Internet service providers.

Changes in how network operators handle and charge for access to data that travel across their networks could adversely impact our business.

We rely significantly upon the ability of consumers to access our products through the internet. If network operators block, restrict or otherwise impair access to our products over their networks, our business could be negatively affected. To the extent that network operators implement usage-based pricing, including meaningful bandwidth caps, or otherwise try to monetize access to their networks by data providers, we could incur greater operating expenses and our membership acquisition and retention could be negatively impacted. Furthermore, to the extent network operators create tiers of internet access service and either charge us for or prohibit us from being available through these tiers, our business could be negatively impacted.

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Most network operators that provide consumers with access to the internet also provide these consumers with multichannel video programming. As such, many network operators have an incentive to use their network infrastructure in a manner adverse to our continued growth and success. While we believe that consumer demand, regulatory oversight and competition will help check these incentives, to the extent that network operators are able to provide preferential treatment to their data as opposed to ours or otherwise implement discriminatory network management practices, our business could be negatively impacted. The extent to which these incentives limit operator behavior differs across markets.

We are subject to payment processing risk.

Our customers pay for our products using a variety of different payment methods, including credit and debit cards, gift cards, prepaid cards, direct debit, online wallets and direct carrier and partner billing. We rely on internal systems as well as those of third parties to process payment. Acceptance and processing of these payment methods are subject to certain rules and regulations, including additional authentication requirements for certain payment methods, and require payment of interchange and other fees. To the extent there are increases in payment processing fees, material changes in the payment ecosystem, such as large re-issuances of payment cards, delays in receiving payments from payment processors, changes to rules or regulations concerning payments, loss of payment partners and/or disruptions or failures in our payment processing systems, partner systems or payment products, including products we use to update payment information, our revenue, operating expenses and results of operation could be adversely impacted. In certain instances, we leverage third parties such as our cable and other partners to bill subscribers on our behalf. If these third parties become unwilling or unable to continue processing payments on our behalf, we would have to transition subscribers or otherwise find alternative methods of collecting payments, which could adversely impact member acquisition and retention. In addition, from time to time, we encounter fraudulent use of payment methods, which could impact our results of operations and if not adequately controlled and managed could create negative consumer perceptions of our products. If we are unable to maintain our fraud and chargeback rate at acceptable levels, card networks may impose fines, our card approval rate may be impacted and we may be subject to additional card authentication requirements. The termination of our ability to process payments on any major payment method would significantly impair our ability to operate our business.

Government regulations could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Our businesses are regulated by governmental authorities in the countries in which we operate. Because of our international operations, we must comply with diverse and evolving regulations. Regulation relates to, among other things, licensing, access to satellite transponders, commercial advertising, subscription rates, foreign investment, Internet gaming, use of confidential customer information and content, including standards of decency/obscenity. Changes in the regulation of our operations or changes in interpretations of existing regulations by courts or regulators or our inability to comply with current or future regulations could adversely affect us by reducing our revenues, increasing our operating expenses and/or exposing us to significant liabilities. While we are not able to reliably predict particular regulatory developments that could affect us adversely, those regulations related to adult content, the Internet, consumer products and commercial advertising illustrate some of the potential difficulties we face.

Adult content. Regulation of adult content could prevent us from making our content available in various jurisdictions or otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. The governments of some countries, such as China and India, have sought to limit the influence of other cultures by restricting the distribution of products deemed to represent foreign or “immoral” influences. Regulation aimed at limiting minors’ access to adult content could also increase our cost of operations and introduce technological challenges, such as by requiring development and implementation of age verification systems. U.S. government officials could amend or construe and seek to enforce more broadly or aggressively the adult content recordkeeping and labeling requirements set forth in 18 U.S.C. Section 2257 and its implementing regulations in a manner that is unfavorable to our business.

Internet. Various governmental agencies have imposed and are further considering a number of laws or regulations concerning various aspects of the Internet, including online content, intellectual property rights, user privacy, taxation, access charges, liability for third-party activities and jurisdiction. Regulation of digital content and the Internet could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations by reducing the overall use of the Internet or provision of certain digital content or services, reducing the demand for our products or increasing our cost of doing business.

Consumer products. Any attempts to limit or otherwise regulate the sale or distribution of certain consumer products sold by us or our licensees could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

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We do business in a variety of digital ecosystems, including sales of digital assets and cryptocurrency payments, which is evolving, and uncertain, and new regulations or policies may materially adversely affect our development.

Our products include digital assets, and we have accepted cryptocurrency as payment for certain digital assets. We expect to continue commercial activities in various digital environments and involving digital assets and cryptocurrencies. The technologies supporting cryptocurrencies and digital assets like blockchain and non-fungible tokens (“NFT”) are new and rapidly evolving. To the extent these technologies become more widely utilized in the industry, revenues from our digital applications could be negatively impacted, including as a result of greater competition. If we fail to explore and commercialize these new technologies and apply them innovatively to keep our products and services competitive, we may not experience significant growth of our business. Regulation of digital platforms and assets, such as user-generated content platforms, cryptocurrencies, blockchain technologies, NFTs and cryptocurrency exchanges, is currently underdeveloped and likely to rapidly evolve as government agencies take greater interest in them. Regulation also varies significantly among international, federal, state and local jurisdictions and is subject to significant uncertainty. Various legislative and executive bodies in the United States and in other countries may in the future adopt laws, regulations, or guidance, or take other actions, which may severely impact the digital ecosystems in which we do business or the digital products we sell, as well as the technology behind them or the means of transacting in or transferring them. The regulatory regime governing user-generated content platforms, blockchain technologies, NFTs, cryptocurrencies, digital assets, utility tokens, security tokens and offerings of digital assets is uncertain, and new regulations or policies may materially adversely affect our digital products and services.

We hold and may acquire digital assets that may be subject to volatile market prices, impairment and unique risks of loss.

From time to time, we may hold digital assets, including NFTs and cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum, and may accept cryptocurrency payments from customers for certain products and services. The prices of digital assets have been in the past and may continue to be highly volatile, including as a result of various associated risks and uncertainties. For example, the prevalence of such assets is a relatively recent trend, and their long-term adoption by investors, consumers and businesses is unpredictable. Moreover, their lack of a physical form, their reliance on technology for their creation, existence and transactional validation and their decentralization may subject their integrity to the threat of malicious attacks and technological obsolescence. Finally, the extent to which securities laws or other regulations apply or may apply in the future to such assets is unclear and may change in the future. If we hold digital assets and their values decrease relative to our purchase prices, our financial condition may be adversely impacted.

Moreover, digital assets are currently considered indefinite-lived intangible assets under applicable accounting rules, meaning that any decrease in their fair values below our carrying values for such assets at any time subsequent to their acquisition will require us to recognize impairment charges, whereas we may make no upward revisions for any market price increases until a sale, which may adversely affect our operating results in any period in which such impairment occurs. Moreover, there is no guarantee that future changes in GAAP will not require us to change the way we account for digital assets held by us.

Finally, as intangible assets without centralized issuers or governing bodies, digital assets have been, and may in the future be, subject to security breaches, cyberattacks or other malicious activities, including inappropriate access and theft, as well as human errors or computer malfunctions that may result in the loss or destruction of private keys needed to access such assets. While we intend to take all reasonable measures to secure any digital assets, if such threats are realized or the measures or controls we create or implement to secure our digital assets fail, it could result in a partial or total misappropriation or loss of our digital assets, and our financial condition and operating results may be adversely impacted.

If we or our third-party service providers experience a security breach or cyberattack and unauthorized parties obtain access to our data and/or digital assets, we may lose some or all of our data and/or digital assets and our financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

Security breaches and cyberattacks are of particular concern with respect to our digitally-stored information, digital assets and "Web3" activities, including our holding and processing of cryptocurrency and other digital assets, including. Ethereum and other blockchain-based cryptocurrencies have been, and may in the future be, subject to security breaches, cyberattacks, or other malicious activities. Hackers have been reported to exploit flaws in crypto marketplace technologies and steal from the accounts of customers, although such flaws may subsequently be fixed and affected customers reimbursed. Nonetheless, a successful security breach or cyberattack could result in a partial or total loss of our digital assets in a manner that may not be covered by insurance or indemnity provisions of the custody agreement with a custodian who holds our digital assets. Such a loss could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

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The loss or destruction of a private key required to access our digital assets may be irreversible. If we are unable to access our private keys or if we experience a cyberattack or other data loss relating to our digital assets, our financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

Blockchain based assets are controllable only by the possessor of both the unique public key and private key relating to the local or online digital wallet in which the asset is held. While the blockchain ledger requires a public key relating to a digital wallet to be published when used in a transaction, private keys must be safeguarded and kept private in order to prevent a third party from accessing the digital asset held in such wallet. To the extent our private key is lost, destroyed, or otherwise compromised and no backup of the private key is accessible, we will be unable to access the digital assets held in the related digital wallet. Furthermore, we cannot provide assurance that our digital wallets will not be compromised as a result of a cyberattack. Cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies have been, and may in the future be, subject to security breaches, cyberattacks, or other malicious activities.

Changes affecting the availability of the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) may have consequences that we cannot yet fully predict.

We are party to agreements and instruments where obligations by or to us are calculated based on or otherwise dependent on LIBOR. In July 2017, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) announced that it intends to stop persuading or compelling banks to submit rates for calculation of LIBOR. The publication of one week and two-month USD LIBOR tenors and tenors for EUR, CHF, JPY and GBP LIBOR ceased after December 31, 2021, and the publication of all other USD LIBOR tenors will cease after June 30, 2023. As a result, LIBOR for particular currencies and tenors will not be available for use in agreements and other instruments after the relevant cessation date and may ultimately cease to be utilized prior to the date publication ceases. Alternative benchmark rate(s) are expected to replace LIBOR in our agreements that reference LIBOR, including, for example, in our New Credit Agreement. At this time, it is difficult for us to predict the full effect of any changes from LIBOR to an alternative benchmark rate upon or prior to the cessation of publication, the phase out of LIBOR generally, or the establishment and use of particular alternative benchmark rates to replace LIBOR. There is uncertainty about how we, the financial markets, applicable law, and the courts will address the replacement of LIBOR with alternative benchmark rates for contracts that do not include appropriate fallback provisions to provide for such alternative benchmark rates. In addition, any changes from LIBOR to an alternative benchmark rate may have an uncertain impact on our cost of funds, our receipts or payments under agreements that reference LIBOR, and the valuation of derivative or other contracts to which we are a party, any of which could impact our results of operations and cash flows.

We are subject to risks resulting from our operations outside the U.S., and we face additional risks and challenges as we continue to expand internationally.

The international scope of our operations may contribute to volatile financial results and difficulties in managing our business. For the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, we derived approximately 41% and 38%, respectively, of our consolidated revenues from countries outside the U.S. Our international operations expose us to numerous challenges and risks, including, but not limited to, the following:

•adverse political, regulatory, legislative and economic conditions in various jurisdictions;

•costs of complying with varying governmental regulations;

•fluctuations in currency exchange rates;

•difficulties in developing, acquiring or licensing programming and products that appeal to a variety of audiences and cultures;

•global supply chain disruptions;

•scarcity of attractive licensing and joint venture partners;

•the potential need for opening and managing distribution centers abroad; and

•difficulties in protecting intellectual property rights in foreign countries.

In addition, important elements of our business strategy, including capitalizing on advances in technology, expanding distribution of our products and content and leveraging cross-promotional marketing capabilities, involve a continued commitment to expanding our business internationally. This international expansion will require considerable management and financial resources. We cannot assure you that one or more of these factors or the demands on our management and financial resources would not adversely affect any current or future international operations and our business as a whole.

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Operating as a public company requires us to incur substantial costs and requires substantial management attention.

We will continue to incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses to comply with the requirements of operating as a public company. We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, which requires, among other things, that we file with the SEC, annual, quarterly and current reports with respect to our business and financial condition. In addition, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, as well as rules subsequently adopted by the SEC and Nasdaq to implement provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, impose significant requirements on public companies, including requiring establishment and maintenance of effective disclosure and financial controls and changes in corporate governance practices. Further, pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, the SEC has adopted additional rules and regulations in these areas, such as mandatory “say on pay” voting requirements. Stockholder activism, the current political environment and the current high level of government intervention and regulatory reform may lead to substantial new regulations and disclosure obligations, including with respect to environmental, social and governance matters, which may lead to additional compliance costs and impact the manner in which we operate our business in ways we cannot currently anticipate.

The rules and regulations applicable to public companies have and are expected to continue to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and to make some corporate activities more time consuming. If these requirements divert the attention of our management and personnel from other business concerns, they could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. The increased costs could decrease our net income or increase our net loss, and may require us to reduce costs in other areas of our business. We cannot predict or estimate the amount or timing of additional costs we may incur to respond to these requirements. The impact of these requirements could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our Board of Directors, our board committees or as executive officers.

Our expansion into new products, technologies, and geographic regions subjects us to additional risks.

We may have limited or no experience in our newer market segments, and our customers may not adopt our product or content offerings. These offerings, which can present new and difficult technology and regulatory challenges, may subject us to claims if customers of these offerings experience service disruptions or failures or other quality issues. In addition, profitability, if any, in our newer activities may not meet our expectations, and we may not be successful enough in these newer activities to recoup our investments in them. Failure to realize the benefits of amounts we invest in new technologies, products, or content could result in the value of those investments being written down or written off.

We expect to incur transaction costs in connection with our corporate transactions and strategic opportunities, which could require additional financing that may not be available to us on acceptable terms.

We have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant costs and expenses in connection with past and future corporate transactions and strategic opportunities, including with respect to acquisitions and financing transactions, for financial advisory, legal, accounting, consulting and other advisory fees and expenses, reorganization and restructuring costs, litigation defense costs, severance/employee benefit-related expenses, filing fees, printing expenses and other related charges. There are also a large number of processes, policies, procedures, operations, technologies and systems that must be integrated in connection with our corporate transactions. There are many factors beyond our control that could affect the total amount or timing of expenses related to such transactions. These costs and expenses could reduce the benefits and income we expect to achieve from our corporate transactions.

We may, in the future, require additional capital to help fund all or part of potential corporate transactions and strategic opportunities. If, at the time required, we do not have sufficient cash to finance those additional capital needs, we will need to raise additional funds through equity and/or debt financing. We cannot guarantee that, if and when needed, additional financing will be available to us on acceptable terms or at all. If additional capital is needed and is either unavailable or cost prohibitive, our growth may be limited as we may need to change our business strategy to slow the rate of, or eliminate, our expansion plans. In addition, any additional financing we undertake could impose additional covenants upon us that restrict our operating flexibility, and, if we issue equity securities to raise capital, our existing stockholders may experience dilution or the new securities may have rights senior to those of our common stock.

We have entered into, and may enter into further, joint ventures and strategic partnerships, which could be adversely affected by our lack of sole decision-making authority, our reliance on our partners or disputes between us and our partners.

We have entered into, and may enter into further, joint ventures and strategic partnerships, in some of which we may not hold controlling interests or operating control. Even if we legally control such ventures, there may be circumstances under which we would not exercise sole decision-making authority regarding their business. Joint ventures and strategic partnerships may, under certain circumstances, involve risks not present were we were in sole control or another party were involved. Joint venture and strategic partners may have economic or other business interests or goals that are inconsistent with our business interests or goals, and may be in a position to take actions contrary to our policies or objectives. Such investments may also have the potential risk of impasses on decisions, because neither we nor the partner would have full control over the venture. Disputes between us and joint venture and strategic partners may result in legal action that would increase our expenses and divert management's attention. In addition, we may in certain circumstances be liable for the actions of our joint venture or strategic partners.

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We may seek strategic opportunities in industries or sectors that may be outside of our management’s areas of expertise.

We may consider strategic opportunities outside of our management’s areas of expertise if an attractive transaction or target is presented to us and we determine that represents an advantageous opportunity for our company. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in any particular opportunity, we cannot assure you that we will adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our securities will not ultimately prove to be less favorable to investors than a direct investment, if an opportunity were available, in a strategic transaction counterparty.

Our expansion places a significant strain on our management, operational, financial, and other resources.

We continue to expand our global operations, including increasing our product and service offerings and scaling our infrastructure to support our retail and services businesses. The complexity of the current scale of our business can place significant strain on our management, personnel, operations, systems, technical performance, financial resources, and internal financial control and reporting functions, and our expansion increases these factors. Failure to manage growth effectively could damage our reputation, limit our growth, and negatively affect our operating results.

In pursuing strategic opportunities and corporate transactions, we may incur various costs and liabilities and we may never realize the anticipated benefits of such opportunities.

If attractive opportunities become available, we may continue to pursue strategic transactions, products or technologies that we believe are strategically advantageous to us. Transactions of this sort could involve numerous risks, including:

•unforeseen operating difficulties and expenditures arising from the process of integrating any new business, product or technology, including related personnel;

•diversion of a significant amount of management’s attention from the ongoing development of our business;

•dilution of existing stockholders’ ownership interest in us;

•incurrence of additional debt;

•exposure to additional operational risk and liability, including risks arising from the operating history of any new or modified businesses;

•entry into markets and geographic areas where we have limited or no experience;

•loss of key employees;

•adverse effects on our relationships with suppliers and customers; and

•adverse effects on any existing relationships, including suppliers and customers.

Furthermore, we may not be successful in identifying appropriate strategic transaction candidates or consummating transactions on terms favorable or acceptable to us or at all.

When we pursue new strategic opportunities or corporate transactions, our due diligence reviews are subject to inherent uncertainties and may not reveal all potential risks. We may therefore fail to discover or inaccurately assess undisclosed or contingent liabilities, including liabilities for which we may have responsibility. As a successor, we may be responsible for any past or continuing violations of law by the seller or the target company, including violations of decency laws. Although we generally attempt to seek contractual protections, such as representations and warranties and indemnities, we cannot be sure that we will obtain such provisions in our transactions or that such provisions will fully protect us from all unknown, contingent or other liabilities or costs. Finally, claims against us relating to any transaction may necessitate our seeking claims against counterparties for which they may not indemnify us or that may exceed the scope, duration or amount of their indemnification obligations.

The success of our business may depends in part on achieving our strategic objectives, including through strategic transactions, dispositions and new initiatives.

Strategic transactions have been, and are expected to continue to be, part of our strategy, and may include dispositions of assets and businesses. We may not achieve expected returns and benefits in connection with this strategy as a result of various factors, including transition challenges, such as operational, personnel and technology platform changes. In addition, we may not achieve the full economic benefits anticipated to result from such transactions.

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Further, dispositions and strategic transactions may distract our management’s time and attention and disrupt our ongoing business operations or relationships with customers, employees, suppliers or other parties. We continue to evaluate the potential disposition of assets and businesses that may no longer help us achieve our strategic objectives, and to view strategic transactions as a key part of our growth strategy.

If we decide to sell assets or a business, we may encounter difficulty in finding attractive terms or buyers or executing alternative exit strategies on acceptable terms in a timely manner, which could delay the accomplishment of our strategic objectives. Alternatively, we may dispose of a business at a price or on terms that are less than we had anticipated, or with the exclusion of select assets. Dispositions may also involve continued financial involvement in a divested business, such as through continuing equity ownership, transition service agreements, guarantees, indemnities or other current or contingent financial obligations. Under these arrangements, performance by the acquired or divested business, or other conditions outside our control, could affect our future financial results.

Our strategic opportunities and corporate transactions may result in disruptions in our business and diversion of management’s attention.

Any strategic opportunities or corporate transactions could require changes to our operations, products and/or personnel. Such transactions may disrupt our operations and divert management’s attention from day-to-day operations, which could impair our relationships with current employees, customers and partners. We may also incur debt or issue equity securities to pay for the costs of any strategic opportunities or corporate transactions. These issuances could be substantially dilutive to our stockholders. In addition, our profitability may suffer because of transaction-related costs. If management is unable to successfully manage new business opportunities, products or personnel, we may not receive the benefits of our strategic opportunities or corporate transactions, and our revenues and stock trading price may decrease.

We may not realize all of the anticipated benefits of our strategic opportunities or corporate transactions or those benefits may take longer to realize than expected.

Our ability to realize anticipated benefits of our strategic opportunities and corporate transactions depends, to a large extent, on our ability to implement changes that facilitate such opportunities and realize anticipated streamlining and synergies. We generally expect to benefit from streamlining, through reduced costs or outsourcing of responsibilities to third parties, and operational synergies from consolidation of capabilities and greater efficiencies from increased scale and market integration. However, this process may preclude or impede realization of the benefits expected from strategic opportunities or corporate transactions and could adversely affect our results of operations. We cannot be certain that we will not be required to implement further realignment activities, make additions or other changes to our workforce based on other cost reduction measures or changes in the markets and industry in which we compete. In addition, future business conditions and events may impact our ability to continue to realize any benefits of these initiatives. If we are not able to successfully achieve these objectives, the anticipated benefits of our transactions may not be realized fully or at all or may take longer to realize than expected.

Any future strategic opportunities or corporate transactions may not be accretive, and may be dilutive, to our earnings per share, which may negatively affect the market price of our common stock.

Future strategic opportunities or corporate transactions may not be accretive to our earnings per share. Our expectations regarding the timeframe in which such transactions may become accretive to our earnings per share may not be realized. In addition, we could fail to realize all of the benefits anticipated in such transactions or experience delays or inefficiencies in realizing such benefits. Such factors could, combined with the potential issuance of shares of our common stock in connection with any such transactions, result in them being dilutive to our earnings per share, which could negatively affect the market price of our common stock.

Our senior secured credit agreement contains various covenants, restrictions and required financial ratios and tests that limit our operating flexibility. The violation of one or more of these covenants, ratios or tests could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.

Our senior secured credit agreement contains covenants that limit our actions. These covenants could materially and adversely affect our ability to finance our future operations or capital needs or to engage in other business activities that may be in our best interests. The covenants restrict our ability to, among other things:

•incur or guarantee additional indebtedness;

•make loans and investments;

•enter into agreements restricting our subsidiaries’ abilities to pay dividends;

•create liens;

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•sell or otherwise dispose of assets;

•enter new lines of business;

•merge or consolidate with other entities; and

•engage in transactions with affiliates.

The senior secured credit agreement also contains financial covenants requiring us to maintain a specified maximum total gross leverage ratio. In December 2022 and February 2023, we made payments of $25 million and $45 million, respectively, for total payments of $70 million since the third amendment of our credit agreement in December 2022, providing us with waivers of the total net leverage ratio covenant through the second quarter of 2024 and resulting in the elimination of cash maintenance covenants, the lenders’ board observer rights and applicable additional margin provided for under the credit agreement, as amended through February 2023.

The covenants in our senior secured credit agreement place significant restrictions on the manner in which we may operate our business, and our ability to meet these covenants may be affected by events beyond our control, such as prevailing economic conditions and changes in regulations, and if such events occur, we cannot be sure that we will be able to comply.

In addition, we are required to assess our ability to continue as a going concern as part of our preparation of financial statements at each quarter-end. This assessment includes, among other things, our ability to comply with the covenants and requirements under our senior secured credit agreement. If in future periods we are not able to demonstrate that we will be in compliance with the financial covenant requirements in our credit agreement for at least 12 months following the date of the financial statements, management could conclude there is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern, and the audit opinion that we would receive from our independent registered public accounting firm would include an explanatory paragraph regarding our ability to continue as a going concern. Such an opinion could cause us to be in breach of the covenants in our senior secured credit agreement and other of our agreements.

If we fail to satisfy any of the foregoing covenants, the lenders could declare the outstanding principal amount of our senior secured credit agreement, including accrued and unpaid interest and all other amounts owing and payable thereunder, to be immediately due and payable, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.

If we do not adequately adopt and manage our reporting and enterprise systems and processes, our ability to manage and grow our business may be adversely impacted.

We are in the process of adopting and implementing new systems and processes across our businesses, which will allow us to execute our business plan and comply with regulations. We will need to continue to improve existing and implement new operational and financial systems, procedures and controls to manage our business effectively in the future. As a result, we have licensed new enterprise systems and have begun a process to expand and upgrade our operational and financial systems. If the systems we have chosen do not fit our business appropriately or if there are material delays in the implementation of, or disruption in the transition to, our new or enhanced systems, procedures or internal controls, our ability to realize the benefits and value of the systems as anticipated, operate our business as intended, achieve accuracy in the conversion of electronic data and records, and/or report financial and management information, could be adversely affected. As a result of the conversion from prior systems and processes, data integrity problems may be discovered that if not corrected could impact our business or financial results. In addition, as we add functionality to the enterprise systems and complete implementations across our businesses, new issues could arise that we have not foreseen. Such issues could adversely affect our ability to do, among other things, the following in a timely manner: provide quotes; take customer orders; ship products; provide services and support to our customers; bill and track our customers; fulfill contractual obligations; and otherwise run our business. Failure to properly or adequately address these issues could result in the diversion of management’s attention and resources, impact our ability to manage our business and negatively impact our results of operations, cash flows and stock price.

A variety of uncontrollable events may reduce demand for our products, impair our ability to provide our products or increase the cost of providing our products.

Demand for our products can be significantly adversely affected in the U.S., globally or in specific regions as a result of a variety of factors beyond our control, including: adverse weather conditions arising from short-term weather patterns or long-term change, catastrophic events or natural disasters (such as excessive heat or rain, hurricanes, typhoons, floods, tsunamis and earthquakes); health concerns, such as pandemics; international, political or military developments; and terrorist attacks. These events and others, such as fluctuations in travel and energy costs and computer virus attacks, intrusions or other widespread computing or telecommunications failures, may also damage our ability to provide our products or to obtain insurance coverage with respect to these events. An incident that affected our property directly would have a direct impact on our ability to provide products and content. Moreover, the costs of protecting against such incidents reduces the profitability of our operations.

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In addition, we derive affiliate fees and royalties from the distribution of our programming, sales of our licensed goods and services by third parties, and the management of businesses operated under brands licensed from us, and we are therefore dependent on the successes of those third parties for that portion of our revenue. A wide variety of factors could influence the success of those third parties and if negative factors significantly impacted a sufficient number of those third parties, the profitability of one or more of our businesses could be adversely affected.

We obtain insurance against the risk of losses relating to some of these events, generally including physical damage to our property and resulting business interruption, certain injuries occurring on our property and some liabilities for alleged breach of legal responsibilities. When insurance is obtained it is subject to deductibles, exclusions, terms, conditions and limits of liability. The types and levels of coverage we obtain vary from time to time depending on our view of the likelihood of specific types and levels of loss in relation to the cost of obtaining coverage for such types and levels of loss and we may experience material losses not covered by our insurance.

Our financial condition and results of operations have been and may continue to be adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

A novel strain of coronavirus (“COVID-19”) was first identified in China in December 2019, and was subsequently declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. To date, this pandemic and preventative measures taken to contain or mitigate the pandemic have caused, and may continue to cause, business slowdowns or shutdowns in affected areas and significant disruption in the financial markets, both globally and in the United States. These events have led to and could continue to lead to a decline in discretionary spending by consumers, and in turn materially impact, our business, sales, financial condition and results of operations. We may experience a negative impact on our sales, operations and financial results, and we cannot predict the degree to, or the time period over, which our sales, operations and financial results will continue to be subject to risk by the pandemic and preventative measures. Risks presented by the COVID-19 pandemic include, but are not limited to:

•Deterioration in economic conditions in the United States and globally, including China and Australia;

•Reduced consumer demand for our products as consumers seek to reduce or delay discretionary spending in response to the impacts of COVID-19, including as a result of a rise in unemployment rates and diminished consumer confidence;

•Decreased retail traffic as a result of store closures, reduced operating hours, social distancing restrictions and/or changes in consumer behavior;

•Disruption of our ability to complete or find new licensing deals and commercial collaborations;

•The risk that any safety protocols in our facilities will not be effective or not be perceived as effective, or that any virus-related illnesses will be linked or alleged to be linked to such facilities, whether accurate or not;

•Incremental costs resulting from the adoption of preventative measures, including providing facial coverings and hand sanitizer, rearranging operations to follow social distancing protocols, conducting temperature checks and undertaking regular and thorough disinfecting of surfaces;

•Inventory shortages caused by a combination of increased demand for our products and longer lead-times in the manufacturing and delivery of our products, due to work restrictions related to COVID-19, import/export conditions such as port congestion, and local government orders;

•Disruption to our distribution centers and our third-party manufacturing partners and other vendors, including through the effects of facility closures, reductions in operating hours, labor shortages, and real time changes in operating procedures, including for additional cleaning and disinfection procedures;

•Bankruptcies or other financial difficulties facing our wholesale customers or licensing partners, which could cause them to be unable to make or delay making payments to us, or result in cancellation or reduction of their orders or licensing agreements;

•Impacts to our distribution and logistics providers’ ability to operate or increases in their operating costs. These supply chain effects may have an adverse effect on our ability to meet consumer demand, including digital demand, and could result in an increase in our costs of production and distribution, including increased freight and logistics costs and other expenses; and

•Significant disruption of and volatility in global financial markets, which could have a negative impact on our ability to access capital in the future.

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We continue to monitor the latest developments regarding the pandemic and have made certain assumptions regarding the pandemic for purposes of our operating, financial and tax planning projections, including assumptions regarding the duration and severity of the pandemic and the global macroeconomic impacts of the pandemic. However, we are unable to accurately predict the extent of the impact of the pandemic on our business, operations and financial condition due to the uncertainty of future developments. Even in those regions where our businesses recover, should those regions fail to fully contain COVID-19 or suffer a COVID-19 relapse, those markets may not recover as quickly or at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. The pandemic may also affect our business, operations or financial condition in a manner that is not presently known to us or that we currently do not consider to present significant risks. In addition, the impact of COVID-19 may also exacerbate other risks discussed in this “Risk Factors” section, which could have a material effect on us.

Global economic conditions could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.

The uncertain state of the global economy continues to impact businesses around the world. If global economic and financial market conditions further deteriorate or do not improve, the following factors could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition:

•Our sales are impacted by discretionary spending by consumers. Declines in consumer spending may result in reduced demand for our products, increased inventories, reduced orders from retailers for our products, order cancellations, lower revenues, higher discounts and lower gross margins.

•In the future, we may be unable to access financing in the credit and capital markets at reasonable rates in the event we find it desirable to do so.

•We conduct transactions in various currencies, which creates exposure to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates relative to the U.S. Dollar. Continued volatility in the markets and exchange rates for foreign currencies and contracts in foreign currencies could have a significant impact on our reported operating results and financial condition.

•As a result, we cannot ensure that demand for our offerings will remain constant. Adverse developments affecting economies throughout the world, including a general tightening of the availability of credit, decreased liquidity in certain financial markets, increased interest rates, foreign exchange fluctuations, increased energy costs, acts of war or terrorism, transportation disruptions, natural disasters, declining consumer confidence, sustained high levels of unemployment or significant declines in stock markets, as well as concerns regarding pandemics, epidemics and the spread of contagious diseases, could lead to a further reduction in discretionary spending.

•Continued volatility in the availability and prices for commodities and raw materials we use in our products and in our supply chain (such as cotton or petroleum derivatives) could have a material adverse effect on our costs, gross margins and profitability.

•If retailers of our products experience declining revenues or experience difficulty obtaining financing in the capital and credit markets to purchase our products, this could result in reduced orders for our products, order cancellations, late retailer payments, extended payment terms, higher accounts receivable, reduced cash flows, greater expense associated with collection efforts and increased bad debt expense.

•If licensees or retailers of our products experience severe financial difficulty, including becoming insolvent or ceasing business operations, this could negatively impact the sale of our products to consumers and the ability of such licensees or retailers to make required payments to us.

•Our business is particularly sensitive to reductions from time to time in discretionary consumer spending. Demand for entertainment and leisure activities can be affected by changes in the economy and consumer tastes, both of which are difficult to predict and beyond our control. Unfavorable changes in general economic conditions, including recessions, economic slowdowns, sustained high levels of unemployment, and rising prices or the perception by consumers of weak or weakening economic conditions, may reduce our users’ disposable income or result in fewer individuals engaging in entertainment and leisure activities, including lifestyle experiences such as casino gaming, and lower spending on sexual wellness, apparel or beauty products. As a result, we cannot ensure that demand for our offerings will remain constant.

If contract manufacturers of our products or other participants in our supply chain experience difficulty obtaining financing in the capital and credit markets to purchase raw materials or to finance capital equipment and other general working capital needs, it may result in delays or non-delivery of shipments of our products.

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We derive, and expect to continue to derive, a significant portion of our revenue from China, our business development plans, results of operations and financial condition may be materially adversely affected by significant political, social and economic developments in China. A slowdown in economic growth in China, such as due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, could adversely impact our licensees in China, prospective customers, suppliers, distributors and partners of our licensees in China, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. In addition, a deterioration in trade relations between the U.S. and China or other countries, or the negative perception of U.S. brands by Chinese or other international consumers, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. There is no guarantee that economic downturns, any further decrease in economic growth rates or an otherwise uncertain economic outlook in China will not persist in the future, that they will not be protracted or that governments will respond adequately to control and reverse such conditions, any of which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We have a material amount of goodwill and other intangible assets, including our trademarks, recorded on our balance sheet. As a result of changes in market conditions and declines in the estimated fair value of these assets, we have in the past, and we may in the future, be required to further write down a portion of this goodwill and other intangible assets and such write-down could, as applicable, have a material effect on our financial results.

As of December 31, 2021, goodwill was $270.6 million, or approximately 29% of our total consolidated assets, and trademarks and other intangible assets represented approximately $418.4 million, or approximately 45% of our total consolidated assets. Under current U.S. GAAP accounting standards, goodwill and indefinite life intangible assets, including some of our trademarks, are not amortized, but instead are subject to impairment evaluation based on related estimated fair values, with such testing to be done at least annually.

During the third quarter of 2022, as a result of impacts to our revenue attributable to macroeconomic factors, we recorded non-cash asset impairment charges related to the write-down of goodwill of $133.8 million and trademarks and other intangible assets of $170.1 million. No impairment charges were recorded in the fourth quarter of 2022. As of December 31, 2022, goodwill was $123.2 million, or approximately 22% of our total consolidated assets, and trademarks and other intangible assets were $236.3 million, or approximately 43% of our total consolidated assets.

There can be no assurance that any future downturn in the business of any of our segments, or a continued decrease in our market capitalization, will not result in a further write-down of goodwill or other intangibles. We will review our goodwill, trademarks, digital assets and other intangible assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. Any write-down of intangible assets resulting from future periodic evaluations could, as applicable, have a material effect on our financial results.

Additional Risks Related to Our Licensing and Direct-to-Consumer Businesses

We utilize various licensing and selling models in our operations, and our success is dependent on our ability to manage these different models.

In addition to the licensing model, we operate online and brick-and-mortar retail stores and we produce and sell directly to customers. Although we believe these various models could have certain benefits, these models could themselves be unsuccessful and our beliefs could turn out to be wrong. Moreover, our pursuit of these different models could divert management’s attention and other resources, including time and capital. As a result, our future success depends in part on our ability to successfully manage these multiple models. If we are unable to do so, our performance, financial condition and prospects could be adversely impacted.

Risks that impact our business as a whole may also impact the success of our direct-to-consumer, or DTC, business.

We may not successfully execute on our DTC strategy (which includes our online and brick-and-mortar retail platforms). Consumers may not be willing to pay for an expanding set of DTC products, potentially exacerbated by an economic downturn. Government regulation, including revised foreign content and ownership regulations, may impact the implementation of our DTC business plans. Poor quality broadband infrastructure in certain markets may impact our customers’ access to our DTC products and may diminish our customers’ experience with our DTC products. These and other risks may impact the profitability and success of our DTC businesses.

The agency relationship for our consumer brands licensing business may not ultimately be successful.

We currently engage an agency to act as our global products licensing agent. In the event we need to engage a new agency to act as our global products licensing agent, the transition from the current licensing agent to a new global products licensing agent may be subject to delays, as the new global agent may lack institutional knowledge of our consumer brand licensing business, and there may be unanticipated issues arising from the new relationship and the transition. The failure of our global agent to find or maintain revenue-enhancing licensing opportunities for the business could have an adverse impact on the revenue and cash flows of our consumer business.

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Our growth will depend on our ability to attract and retain customers and subscribers, and the loss of customers or subscribers, failure to attract new customers and subscribers in a cost-effective manner, or failure to effectively manage our growth could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Our ability to achieve growth in revenue in the future will depend, in large part, upon our ability to attract new customers and subscribers to our offerings, retain existing customers and subscribers of our offerings and reactivate customers and subscribers in a cost-effective manner. Achieving such growth may require us to increasingly engage in sophisticated and costly sales and marketing efforts, some or all of which may not provide a material return on investment. We have used and expect to continue to use a variety of free and paid marketing channels, in combination with compelling offers and opportunities to achieve our objectives. For paid marketing, we intend to leverage a broad array of advertising channels, including billboards, radio, social media platforms, planes, affiliates and paid and organic search, and other digital channels, such as search and mobile display. If the search engines and other digital platforms on which we rely modify their algorithms, change their terms, including with respect to cookies, data and/or privacy controls, or if the prices at which we use such services increase, then our costs could increase, and fewer customers and subscribers may reach our use our platforms. If links to our platforms are not displayed prominently in online search results or on social media, if fewer customers or subscribers click through to our platforms, if our other marketing campaigns are not effective, or if the costs of attracting customers and subscribers using any of our current methods significantly increase, then our ability to efficiently attract new customers and subscribers could be reduced, our revenue could decline and our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely impacted.

Additionally, as technological or regulatory standards change and we modify our offerings to comply with those standards, we may need customers and subscribers to take certain actions to continue accessing our platforms, such as performing age verification checks or accepting new terms and conditions. Customers and subscribers may be deterred from using our offerings at any time, including if the quality of their experience, including our support capabilities in the event of a problem, does not meet their expectations or keep pace with the quality of the customer experience generally offered by competitive offerings.

If we are unable to predict or effectively react to changes in consumer demand or shopping patterns, our sales may decline and we may write-down inventory.

Our success depends in part on our ability to anticipate and respond in a timely manner to changing consumer demand, preferences, and shopping patterns, which cannot be predicted with certainty and are subject to continual change and evolution. If we are unable to provide a retail experience that aligns with consumer expectations and preferences, it could have an adverse impact on our revenues, business and results of operations.

We often make advance commitments to purchase products, which may make it more difficult for us to adapt to rapidly-evolving changes in consumer preferences. Furthermore, supply chain challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors have made it more difficult to obtain certain in-demand products at the right times. Our sales could decline significantly if we misjudge the market for our new merchandise, which may result in significant merchandise markdowns and lower margins, missed opportunities for other products, or inventory write-downs, and could have a negative impact on our reputation, profitability and demand. Failure to meet stockholder expectations, particularly with respect to earnings, sales, and operating margins, could also result in volatility in the market value of our stock.

We record a charge for product inventories that have become obsolete or exceed anticipated demand, or for which cost exceeds net realizable value. If we determine that an impairment has occurred, we record a write-down by the amount for which costs exceed net realizable value. No assurance can be given that we will not incur write-downs, fees, impairments and other charges given the rapid and unpredictable pace of product obsolescence in the direct-to-consumer markets in which we compete. For the twelve-month period ended December 31, 2022, we recorded non-cash inventory reserve charges of $4.2 million.

Our business depends on consumer purchases of discretionary items, which can be negatively impacted during an economic downturn or periods of inflation. This could materially impact our sales, profitability and financial condition.

Many of our products may be considered discretionary items for consumers. Many factors impact discretionary spending, including general economic conditions, unemployment, the availability of consumer credit and inflationary pressures and consumer confidence in future economic conditions. Global economic conditions may continue to be uncertain, particularly in light of the impacts of COVID-19, and the potential impacts of increasing inflation in the United States (our largest market) remain unknown, making trends in consumer discretionary spending unpredictable. Historically, consumer purchases of discretionary items tend to decline during recessionary periods when disposable income is lower or during other periods of economic instability or uncertainty, which may lead to declines in sales and slow our long-term growth expectations. Any near or long-term economic disruptions in markets where we sell our products, particularly in the United States, China or other key markets, may adversely impact our sales, profitability and financial condition and our prospects for growth. In addition, as pandemic conditions improve and restrictions ease, we are unable to predict whether consumer preferences for discretionary items will shift and the level of consumer spending within our industry will be negatively impacted for a period of time. If this were to occur, our sales and prospects for growth may be negatively impacted.

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A substantial portion of our licensing revenue is concentrated with a limited number of licensees and retail partners, such that the loss of a licensee or retail partner could materially decrease our revenue and cash flows.

Our licensing revenues are concentrated with a limited number of licensees and retail partners. For instance, during the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, the five largest license agreements comprised 18% and 20% of consolidated revenues, respectively, and the largest licensee contributed 8% and 9% of consolidated revenues, respectively, during those years. Because we are dependent on these licensees for a significant portion of our licensing revenue, if any of these licensees were to have financial difficulties affecting their ability to make payments, cease operations, or if any of these licensees decides not to renew or extend any existing agreements, or to significantly reduce its sales of licensed products under any agreement, we could be required to adjust how we account for revenue pursuant to such licenses, and our revenue and cash flows could be reduced substantially, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or business.

Our wholesale licensing arrangements subject us to a number of risks.

We have entered into several arrangements in connection with our licensing strategy. Although we believe our licensing arrangements may have certain benefits, these arrangements are subject to a number of risks and our beliefs could turn out to be wrong. If any of these risks occur and we do not achieve the intended or expected benefits of our licensing strategy, our results of operations, and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.

The terms of our licensing arrangements vary. These different terms could have a material impact on our performance. These effects on our performance could become increasingly significant in future periods, to the extent our new licensees gain traction over time with new retailers and consumer bases and the proportion of our royalty revenues from these licensees increases, or if we pursue similar arrangements in the future.

Additionally, in licensing arrangements, we have limited ability to control various aspects of the manufacturing process, including access to raw materials, the timing of delivery of finished products, the quality of finished products and manufacturing costs. Our licensees may not be able to produce finished products of the quality or in the quantities that are sufficient to meet retailer and consumer demand in a timely manner or at all, which could result in an inability to generate revenues from any such products and loss of confidence in our brands. Interruptions or delays in the manufacturing process can occur at any time and for a variety of reasons, many of which are outside our control, including, among others, unforecasted spikes in demand, shortages of raw materials, labor disputes, backlogs, insufficient devotion of resources to the manufacture of products bearing our brands, or problems that may arise with manufacturing operations or facilities or our licensees’ businesses generally. On the other hand, our licensees may produce inventory in excess of retailer and consumer demand, in which case over-supply may cause retail prices of products bearing our brands to decline. Further, we compete with other brand owners for the time and resources of our licensees, which could curtail or limit our ability to engage new or maintain relationships with existing licensee partners on acceptable terms or at all. Further, the unplanned loss of any of our wholesale licensees could lead to inadequate market coverage for retail sales of products bearing our brands, create negative impressions of us and our brands with retailers and consumers, and add downward pricing pressure on products bearing our brands as a result of liquidating a former wholesaler’s inventory of such products. The occurrence of any of these risks could adversely impact our reputation, performance and financial condition.

We rely on the accuracy of our licensees’ sales reports for reporting and collecting our royalty revenues, and if these reports are untimely or incorrect, our revenues could be delayed or inaccurately reported or collected.

Most of our licensing royalty revenues are generated from retailers that manufacture and sell products bearing our brands in their stores and on their websites, and from wholesalers that manufacture and distribute products bearing our brands and sell these products to retailers. In addition, we generate revenues from licensees that sell products that we have developed and designed. Under our existing agreements, our licensees pay us fees based on their sales of products or, for some of our wholesale licensees, based on their manufacturing costs. As a result, we rely on our licensees to accurately report their sales or costs in collecting our license and design fees, preparing our financial reports, projections and budgets and directing our sales and marketing efforts. Although all of our agreements permit us to audit our licensees, if any of them understate their sales or costs, we may not collect and recognize the royalty revenues to which we are entitled on a timely basis or at all, or we may endure significant expense to obtain compliance.

The failure of licensees to adequately produce, market, import and sell products bearing Playboy’s trademarks in their license categories, continue their operations, renew their license agreements or pay their obligations under their license agreements could result in a decline in the results of operations of our business.

A significant part of our revenues depends on royalty payments made to us pursuant to license agreements. Although the license agreements for our trademarks usually require the advance payment of a portion of the license fees and, in most cases, provide for guaranteed minimum royalty payments to us, the failure of licensees to satisfy their obligations under these agreements, or their inability to operate successfully or at all, could result in their breach and/or the early termination of such agreements, their non-renewal of such agreements or the decision to amend such agreements to reduce the guaranteed minimum royalty payments or sales royalties due thereunder, thereby eliminating some or all of that stream of revenue.

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There can be no assurances that we will not lose the licensees under our license agreements due to their failure to exercise the option to renew or extend the term of those agreements or the cessation of their business operations (as a result of their financial difficulties or otherwise) without equivalent options for replacement. Any of such failures could reduce the anticipated revenue stream to be generated by the license agreements. In addition, the failure of licensees to meet their production, manufacturing and distribution requirements, or to be able to continue to import goods (including, without limitation, as a result of labor strikes or unrest), could cause a decline in their sales and potentially decrease the amount of royalty payments (over and above the guaranteed minimum royalty payments) due to us. Any decrease in royalties for any of the above reasons could have a material and adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or business.

Further, the failure of licensees and/or their third party manufacturers, which we do not control, to adhere to local laws, industry standards and practices generally accepted in the United States in areas of worker safety, worker rights of association, social compliance, and general health and welfare, could result in accidents and practices that cause disruptions or delays in production and/or adversely impact the reputation of our trademarks, any of which could have a material adverse effect on the business and financial results of our business. A weak economy or softness in sectors of licensees of our consumer business could exacerbate this risk. This, in turn, could decrease our potential revenues and cash flows.

We rely on third parties to help operate certain aspects of our e-commerce business. If these third parties fail to perform, our business could be adversely impacted.

We are dependent on information technology systems and third parties to operate certain of our e-commerce and subscription websites, process transactions, respond to customer inquiries and maintain cost-efficient operations. The failure of our information technology systems to operate properly or effectively, problems with transitioning to upgraded or replacement systems, or difficulty in integrating new systems, could adversely affect our business. Our information technology systems, websites, and operations of third parties on whom we rely, may encounter damage or disruption or slowdown caused by a failure to successfully upgrade systems, system failures, viruses, computer “hackers”, natural disasters, pandemics, or other causes. These could cause information, including data related to customer orders, to be lost or delayed which could result in delays in the delivery of products to our customers or lost sales, which could reduce demand for our products and cause our sales to decline. Any significant disruption in our information technology systems or websites could adversely impact our reputation and credibility and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Our commercial agreements, strategic alliances, and other business relationships expose us to risks.

We provide physical, e-commerce, and omnichannel retail and other products and content to businesses through commercial agreements, strategic alliances, and business relationships. These arrangements are complex and require substantial infrastructure capacity, personnel, and other resource commitments, which may limit the amount of business we can service. We may not be able to implement, maintain, and develop the components of these commercial relationships, which may include web services, fulfillment, customer service, inventory management, tax collection, payment processing, hardware, content, and third-party software, and engaging third parties to perform services. The amount of compensation we receive under certain of our commercial agreements is partially dependent on the volume of the other company’s sales. Therefore, when the other company’s offerings are not successful, the compensation we receive may be lower than expected or the agreement may be terminated. Moreover, we may not be able to enter into additional or alternative commercial relationships and strategic alliances on favorable terms. We also may be subject to claims from businesses to which we provide these products and content if we are unsuccessful in implementing, maintaining, or developing these products and content.

As our agreements terminate, we may be unable to renew or replace these agreements on comparable terms, or at all. We may in the future enter into amendments on less favorable terms or encounter parties that have difficulty meeting their contractual obligations to us, which could adversely affect our operating results.

Our present and future e-commerce services agreements, other commercial agreements, and strategic alliances create additional risks such as:

•disruption of our ongoing business, including loss of management focus on existing businesses;

•impairment of other relationships;

•variability in revenue and income from entering into, amending, or terminating such agreements or relationships; and

•difficulty integrating under the commercial agreements.

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We may be subject to product liability claims when people or property are harmed by the products we sell or manufacture.

Some of the products we sell or manufacture may expose us to product liability claims relating to personal injury or illness, death, or environmental or property damage, and can require product recalls or other actions. Third parties who sell products using our platforms and stores increase our exposure to product liability claims, such as when these sellers do not have sufficient protection from such claims. Although we maintain liability insurance, we cannot be certain that our coverage will be adequate for liabilities actually incurred or that insurance will continue to be available to us on economically reasonable terms, or at all. Although we impose contractual terms on sellers that are intended to prohibit sales of certain type of products, we may not be able to detect, enforce, or collect sufficient damages for breaches of such agreements. In addition, some of our agreements with our vendors and sellers do not indemnify us from product liability.

Our consumer business is subject to additional risks associated with our international licensees.

Many of the licensees of our consumer business are located outside the U.S. Our consumer business and our licensees face numerous risks in doing business outside the U.S., including: (i) unusual or burdensome foreign laws or regulatory requirements or unexpected changes to those laws or requirements; (ii) tariffs, trade protection measures, import or export licensing requirements, trade embargoes, sanctions and other trade barriers; (iii) competition from foreign companies; (iv) longer accounts receivable collection cycles and difficulties in collecting accounts receivable; (v) less effective and less predictable protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights; (vi) changes in the political or economic condition of a specific country or region (including, without limitation, as a result of political unrest), particularly in emerging markets or jurisdictions where political events may strongly influence consumer spending; (vii) fluctuations in the value of foreign currency versus the U.S. dollar, the cost of currency exchange and compliance with exchange controls; (viii) potentially adverse tax consequences; and (ix) cultural differences in the conduct of business. Any one or more of such factors could cause the future international sales of licensees to decline. In addition, the business practices of our consumer business in international markets are subject to the requirements of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and all other applicable anti-bribery laws, any violation of which could subject us to significant fines, criminal sanctions and other penalties. The occurrence of any of the above risks and uncertainties could result in a material adverse effect on our consumer business’s financial condition, results of operations or business.

Additional Risks Related to Our Digital Subscriptions and Content Business

Free content on the internet and competition from free platforms and other social media and content-creator sites is increasing competition for our adult content products and creator platform and is changing the dynamics of the marketplace for our digital products.

Demand for our paid adult content products and our creator platform is significantly impacted by the availability of free adult entertainment available on the Internet, “YouTube-like” adult video sites (commonly known as “tube sites”), as well as from social media platforms and other subscription-based content-creator sites. Such other sites and platforms feature free adult videos, some of which consist of unlicensed, or pirated, excerpts of professionally produced adult movies (including at times pirated versions of our proprietary videos). Other content-creator sites allow consumers to subscribe for content from specific creators, many of which offer adult-oriented content. The availability of these free adult videos and creator-specific subscriptions may diminish the demand for our paid video offerings on our proprietary websites, including our content creator platform on playboy.com, playboy.tv and playboyplus.com, and for our other content products, and has diluted the market presence of our website. The tube sites, social media platforms and other content-creator sites may materially affect the revenues we generate from our websites and other adult content offerings. It is uncertain what affect tube sites, other free internet adult websites and competing content-creator sites will have on our on-going operations and our future financial results. No assurance can be given that we will be able to effectively compete against the tube sites and other internet products.

Failure to maintain our agreements with multiple system operators, or MSOs, and direct-to-home, or DTH, operators on favorable terms could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We currently have agreements with many of the largest MSOs in the U.S. and internationally. Our agreements with these operators may be terminated on short notice without penalty. If one or more MSOs or DTH operators terminate or do not renew these agreements, or do not renew them on terms as favorable as those of current agreements, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

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In addition, competition among television programming providers is intense for both channel space and viewer spending. Our competition varies in both the type and quality of programming offered, but consists primarily of other premium pay platforms, such as general-interest premium channels, and other adult movie pay platforms. We compete with other pay platforms as we attempt to obtain or renew carriage with DTH operators and individual cable affiliates, negotiate fee arrangements with these operators, negotiate for video-on-demand, or VOD, and subscription video-on-demand rights and market our programming through these operators to consumers. The competition with programming providers has intensified as a result of consolidation in the DTH and cable systems industries, which has resulted in fewer, but larger, operators. Competition has also intensified with VOD’s lower cost of entry for programmers compared to linear networks and with capacity constraints disappearing. The impact of industry consolidation, any decline in our access to and acceptance by DTH and/or cable systems and the possible resulting deterioration in the terms of agreements, cancellation of fee arrangements or pressure on margin splits with operators of these systems could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Limits on our access to satellite transponders could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Our cable television and DTH operations require continued access to satellite transponders to transmit programming to cable and DTH operators. Material limitations on our access to these systems or satellite transponder capacity could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. Our access to transponders may also be restricted or denied if:

•we or the satellite transponder providers are indicted or otherwise charged as a defendant in a criminal proceeding;

•the Federal Communications Commission issues an order initiating a proceeding to revoke the satellite owner’s authorization to operate the satellite;

•the satellite transponder providers are ordered by a court or governmental authority to deny us access to the transponder;

•we are deemed by a governmental authority to have violated any obscenity law; or

•the satellite transponder providers fail to provide the required services.

In addition to the above, the access of Playboy TV and the Playboy Channel and our other networks to transponders may be restricted or denied if a governmental authority commences an investigation or makes an adverse finding concerning the content of their transmissions. Technical failures may also affect our satellite transponder providers’ ability to deliver transmission services.

There has been a shift in consumer behavior as a result of technological innovations and changes in the distribution of content, which may affect our viewership and the profitability of our content business in unpredictable ways.

Technology and business models in our industry continue to evolve rapidly. Changes to these business models include the increasing presence of user-generated content, streaming platforms and the greater video consumption through time-delayed or time-shifted viewing of television programming through social media and content creation sites, streaming platforms, on-demand platforms, and digital video recorder, or DVRs. Consumer behavior related to changes in content distribution and technological innovation affect our economic model and viewership in ways that are not entirely predictable.

Consumers are increasingly viewing content on a time-delayed or on-demand basis from traditional distributors and from streaming and social media platforms, connected apps and websites and on a wide variety of screens, such as televisions, tablets, mobile phones and other devices. Additionally, devices that allow users to view television programs on a time-shifted basis and technologies that enable users to fast-forward or skip programming, including commercials, such as DVRs and portable digital devices and systems that enable users to store or make portable copies of content may affect the attractiveness of our offerings to advertisers and could therefore adversely affect our revenues. There is increased demand for short-form, user-generated and interactive content, which have different economic models than our traditional content offerings. Likewise, distributors are offering smaller programming packages known as “skinny bundles” and content-creator platforms allow for a la carte consumption, both of which are delivered at a lower cost than traditional subscription offerings and sometimes allow consumers to create a customized package of content, that are gaining popularity among consumers. If our networks are not included in these packages or consumers favor alternative offerings, we may experience a decline in viewership or content consumption and ultimately the demand for our programming and content, which could lead to lower revenues.