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CuriosityStream Inc.

For the period ended Dec 31, 2024. Filed Mar 25, 2025.

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A company's yearly report to the SEC, with audited financial statements. It is the fullest account a company gives of its business, its finances and the risks it sees.

FY2024 · Filed Mar 25, 2025

CURI$2.50-0.4%Stored close · as of Nov 9, 2026

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Contents

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

NOTE 1 -ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS

On October 14, 2020, Software Acquisition Group Inc., a special purpose acquisition company and a Delaware corporation (“SAQN”), consummated a reverse merger pursuant to that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated August 10, 2020 (the “Business Combination”). Upon the consummation of the Business Combination, CuriosityStream Operating Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Legacy CuriosityStream”) became a wholly owned subsidiary of SAQN, and the registrant changed its name from “Software Acquisition Group Inc.” to “CuriosityStream Inc.” Following the consummation of the Business Combination, Legacy CuriosityStream changed its name from “CuriosityStream Operating Inc.” to “Curiosity Inc.”

The principal business of CuriosityStream Inc. (the "Company" or "CuriosityStream") is providing customers with access to high quality factual content via a direct subscription video on-demand (SVOD) platform accessible by internet connected devices, or indirectly via distribution partners who deliver CuriosityStream content via the distributor’s platform or system. The Company's online library available for streaming spans the entire category of factual entertainment including science, history, society, nature, lifestyle, and technology. The Company's SVOD platform offers more than 15,000 accessible on-demand and ad-free productions and includes shows and series from leading non-fiction producers.

The Company’s content assets are available for consuming directly through its owned and operated website (“O&O Consumer Service”), mobile applications developed for iOS and Android operating systems (“App Services”), and via the platforms and systems of third-party partners in exchange for license fees. The Company offers subscribers a monthly or annual subscription. The price for a subscription varies depending on the location of the subscriber, the content included (e.g., Direct Service or Smart Bundle service) and the length of the subscription (e.g., monthly or annual) selected by the customer. As an additional part of the Company’s App Services, it has built applications to make its service accessible on almost every major customer device, including streaming media players like Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV and major smart TV brands (e.g., LG, Vizio, Samsung). In addition, CuriosityStream has affiliate agreement relationships with, and its content assets are available through, certain multichannel video programming distributors (“MVPDs”) and virtual MVPDs (“vMVPDs”). The Company also has distribution agreements which grant other media and technology companies certain distribution rights to the Company’s programs, referred to as content licensing arrangements. The Company also sells selected rights to content created before production begins.

NOTE 2 -SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

BASIS OF PRESENTATION

The consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”). The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiary. Intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated.

USE OF ESTIMATES

The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP and the rules and regulations of the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Significant items subject to such estimates include the content asset amortization, the assessment of the recoverability of content assets andequity method investments, and the determination of fair value estimates related to non monetary transactions, share-based awards and liability-classified warrants.

CONCENTRATION OF RISK

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentration of credit risk consist principally of cash, cash equivalents, investments, and accounts receivable. The Company maintains its cash, cash equivalents, and investments with high credit quality financial institutions; at times, such balances with the financial institutions may exceed the applicable Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)-insured limits.

Accounts receivable, net are typically unsecured and are derived from revenues earned from customers primarily located in the U.S.

During the year ended December 31, 2024, the top three customers accounted for 16% of the Company’s revenues with no customer individually accounting for 10% of the Company’s revenues. These same three customers accounted for 23% of the Company’s accounts receivable as of December 31, 2024.

During the year ended December 31, 2023, the top three customers accounted for 11% of the Company’s revenues with no customer individually accounting for 10% of the Company’s revenues. These same three customers accounted for 18% of the Company’s accounts receivable as of December 31, 2023.

CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS AND RESTRICTED CASH

The Company considers investments in instruments purchased with an original maturity of 90 days or less to be cash equivalents. Restricted cash maintained under agreements that legally restrict the use of such funds is not included within cash and cash equivalents and is reported in a separate line item on the consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2024, and 2023.

INVESTMENTS IN DEBT SECURITIES

The Company classifies its investments in debt securities as held-to-maturity (HTM) under ASC “Accounting Standards Codification” 320, “Investments—Debt and Equity Securities.” HTM investments represent securities for which the Company has the positive intent and ability to hold to maturity, and they are reported at amortized cost.

Prior to 2024, the Company also held available-for-sale (AFS) securities, which were reported at fair value with unrealized gains and losses recognized in other comprehensive income (OCI). As of December 31, 2024, the Company no longer holds AFS securities.

Investments with original maturities of three months or less from the date of purchase are classified as cash equivalents. Investments with longer maturities are classified as short-term or long-term investments based on the remaining maturity at each balance sheet date and the Company’s intent to hold the security. Interest income earned from HTM investments is recognized in the consolidated statement of operations within interest and other income.

FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENT OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

Fair value is defined as the exit price, or the amount that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants as of the measurement date. The applicable accounting guidance establishes a hierarchy for inputs used in measuring fair value that maximizes the use of observable inputs and minimizes the use of unobservable inputs by requiring that the most observable inputs be used when available. Observable inputs are those that market participants would use in valuing the asset or liability and are developed based on market data obtained from sources independent of the Company. Unobservable inputs are those that reflect the Company’s assumptions about the factors market participants would use in valuing the asset or liability.

The accounting guidance establishes three levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair value:

Level 1: Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

Level 2: Inputs other than Level 1 that are observable, either directly or indirectly, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities; quoted prices in markets that are not active; or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities.

Level 3: Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities.

Assets and liabilities are classified in their entirety based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurements. The Company reviews the fair value hierarchy classification at each reporting period. Changes in the observability of valuation inputs may result in a reclassification of levels for certain securities within the fair value hierarchy.

The Company’s assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis include its investments in money market funds and corporate, U.S. government, and municipal debt securities. Level 1 inputs were derived by using unadjusted quoted prices for identical assets in active markets and were used to value the Company’s investments in money market funds and U.S. government debt securities. Level 2 inputs were derived using prices for similar investments and were used to value the Company’s investments in corporate and municipal debt securities.

The Company’s liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis include its private placement warrants issued to Software Acquisition Holdings LLC, the Company’s former Sponsor, in a private placement offering (the “Private Placement Warrants”). The fair value of the Private Placement Warrants is considered a Level 3 valuation and is determined using the Black-Scholes valuation model. Refer to Note 6 - Stockholders' Equity for significant assumptions which the Company used in the fair value model for the Private Placement Warrants.

Certain assets are measured at fair value on a nonrecurring basis and are subject to fair value adjustments only in certain circumstances, e.g., when there is evidence of impairment indicators. The Company assesses the fair value of its content as a result of identifying indicators of impairment related to those assets. The resulting fair value measurements of the equity-method investments and content assets are considered to be Level 3 measurements. Refer to Note 3 - Equity Investmentsand Note 4 - Balance Sheet Componentsfor further discussion of the results of these analyses.

The Company’s remaining financial instruments, including cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and accrued expenses and other liabilities are carried at cost, which approximates fair value because of the short-term maturity of these instruments.

EQUITY METHOD INVESTMENTS

The Company applies the equity method of accounting to investments when it has the ability to exercise significant influence, but not control, over the investee. Significant influence is presumed to exist when the Company owns between 20% and 50% of the voting interests in the investee, but the Company also applies judgment regarding its level of influence over the investee by considering key factors such as ownership interest, representation on the board of directors, participation in policy-making decisions and material intercompany transactions.

The Company’s equity method investments are initially reported at cost and then adjusted each period for the Company’s share of the investee’s income or loss and dividends paid, if any. The Company’s proportionate share of the net income (loss) resulting from these investments is reported under the line item captioned “Equity method investment loss” on the consolidated statements of operations. The Company classifies distributions received from equity method investments using the cumulative earnings approach in the consolidated statements of cash flows.

ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE

Accounts receivable is comprised of receivables from subscriptions revenue, license fees revenue, and other revenue. The Company records accounts receivable net of an allowance for expected credit losses. The allowance is determined based on a review of the estimated collectability of the specific accounts and historical loss experience and existing economic conditions. Uncollectible amounts are written off against the allowance for credit losses accounts once management determines collection of such amount, or a portion thereof, to be less than probable. As of December 31, 2024, and 2023, allowance for expected credit losses amounted to $0.2 million and $0.5 million, respectively.

CONTENT ASSETS

The Company acquires, licenses and produces content, including original programming, in order to offer customers unlimited viewing of factual entertainment content. Content license terms generally include a fixed fee and specific windows of availability. Payments for content, including additions to content assets and the changes in related liabilities, are classified within Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities on the consolidated statements of cash flows. Content acquired or licensed through trade and barter transactions is also reported within additions to content assets.

The Company recognizes its content assets as Content assets, net on the consolidated balance sheets. For licensed content, the Company capitalizes the fee per title and records a corresponding liability at the gross amount of the liability when the license period begins, the cost of the title is known, and the title is accepted and available for streaming. For productions, the Company capitalizes costs associated with the production, including development costs, direct costs and production overhead.

Amortization of content assets is reported within Cost of revenues in the consolidated statements of operations. Based on factors including historical and estimated viewing patterns, the Company amortizes content assets on an accelerated basis in the initial two months after a title is published, as the Company has observed and expects more upfront viewing of content, generally as a result of additional marketing efforts.

Furthermore, the amortization of produced content is generally accelerated at a higher amortization rate than that of licensed content. The Company reviews factors that impact the amortization of the content assets on a regular basis and the estimates related to these factors require considerable management judgment. The Company continues to review factors impacting the amortization of content assets on an ongoing basis and will also record amortization on an accelerated basis when there is more upfront use of a title, for instance due to significant content licensing.

The Company’s primary business model is subscription-based as opposed to a model based on generating revenues at a specific title level. Content assets are predominantly monetized as a group and therefore are reviewed in aggregate at a group level when an event or change in circumstances indicates a change in the expected usefulness of the content or that the fair value may be less than unamortized cost. If such changes are identified, the aggregated content library will be stated at the lower of unamortized cost or fair value. In addition, unamortized costs are written off for content assets that have been, or are expected to be abandoned.

PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT

Property and equipment are stated at historical cost, less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is calculated using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets. Leasehold improvements are amortized over the shorter of the non-cancelable lease term or the estimated useful lives. Repairs and maintenance expenses are expensed as incurred.

LONG-LIVED ASSETS

The Company reviews its long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. Recoverability of these assets is measured by a comparison of the carrying amount to the future undiscounted cash flows the assets are expected to generate. If long-lived assets are considered impaired, an impairment charge is recognized for the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset exceeds its fair value. For the years ended December 31, 2024, and 2023, the Company recognizedno impairment charges related to long-lived assets .

INTANGIBLE ASSETS

Intangible assets are carried at cost and amortized over their estimated useful lives. Amortization is recorded within general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statements of operations. The Company reviews identifiable finite-lived intangible assets to be held and used for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of the assets may not be recoverable. Determination of recoverability is based on the lowest level of identifiable estimated undiscounted cash flows resulting from use of the asset and its ultimate disposition. Measurement of any impairment loss is based on the amount by which the carrying value of the asset exceeds its fair value.

WARRANT LIABILITY

The Company classifies its Private Placement Warrants as liabilities, as the terms of these warrants provide for potential changes to the settlement amounts dependent upon the characteristics of the warrant holder and because the holder of a warrant is not an input into the pricing of a fixed-for-fixed option on equity shares. Such provisions would preclude the warrant from classification as equity, and thus the warrant is classified as a liability. The Private Placement Warrants are recorded at fair value on the consolidated balance sheets and changes in their fair value each period are reported in change in fair value of warrant liability in the consolidated statements of operations.

REVENUE RECOGNITION

Subscriptions

O&O Consumer Service

The Company generates revenue from subscription fees from its O&O Consumer Service. CuriosityStream subscribers enter into month-to-month or annual subscriptions with the Company. The Company bills the monthly subscriber on each subscriber’s monthly anniversary date and recognizes the revenue ratably over each monthly membership period. The annual subscription fees are collected by the Company at the start of the annual subscription period and are recognized ratably over the subsequent twelve-month period. Revenues are presented net of the taxes that are collected from subscribers and remitted to governmental authorities.

The Company also provides a Smart Bundle membership that includes access to our standard service, as well as subscriptions to certain third-party platforms. The Company recognizes the gross subscription revenues when earned and simultaneously recognizes the corresponding fees for the third-party platforms as an expense. The Company is the principal in these relationships as it has control over providing the customer with access to the third-party platforms and the determination of the Smart Bundle pricing.

App Services

The Company also earns subscription revenues through its App Services. These subscriptions are similar to the O&O Service subscriptions, but are generated based on agreements with certain streaming media players as well as with Smart TV brands and gaming consoles. Under these agreements, the streaming media player typically bills the subscriber directly and then remits the collected subscriptions to the Company, net of a distribution fee. The Company recognizes the gross subscription revenues when earned and simultaneously recognizes the corresponding distribution fees as an expense. The Company is the principal in these relationships as the Company retains control over service delivery to its subscribers.

License Fees

The Company has distribution agreements which grant a licensee limited distribution rights to the Company’s programs for varying terms, generally in exchange for a fixed license fee. Revenue is recognized once the content is made available for the licensee to use.

Partner Direct and Bundled Distribution

The Company generates license fee revenues from MVPDs such as Comcast and Cox as well as from vMVPDs such as Amazon Prime and Sling TV (MVPDs and vMVPDs are also referred to as affiliates). Under the terms of the agreements with these affiliates, the Company receives license fees based upon contracted programming rates and subscriber levels reported by the affiliates. In exchange, the Company licenses its content to the affiliates for distribution to their subscribers. The Company earns revenue under these agreements either based on the total number of subscribers multiplied by rates specified in the agreements or based on fixed fee arrangements. These revenues are recognized over the term of each agreement when earned.

Trade and Barter Transactions

In the second quarter of 2023, the Company began entering into trade and barter transactions. The primary purpose of the transactions is the exchange of content assets through licensing agreements with media counterparties, while certain transactions may also include the exchange of advertising, whereby the Company and its counterparty exchange media campaigns or other promotional services. The Company reviews each transaction to confirm that the content assets, advertising or other services it receives have economic substance, and records revenue in an amount equal to the fair value of what it receives and at the time that it completes its performance obligation. For advertising, the performance obligation is satisfied upon the Company’s delivery of the media campaign or other service to the counterparty. For an exchange of content, the performance obligation is satisfied at the time the content is made available for the counterparty to use, which represents the point in time that control is transferred.

COST OF REVENUES

Cost of revenues primarily includes content asset amortization, streaming delivery costs, payment processing costs and distribution fees.

ADVERTISING AND MARKETING

Advertising and marketing expenses include digital, radio, and television advertisements as well as brand awareness expenditures. These costs are expensed as incurred. For the years ended December 31, 2024, and 2023, advertising and marketing expenses were $14.4 million and $17.4 million, respectively, and are reflected in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations.

STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

The Company measures the cost of employee services received in exchange for an award of equity instruments based on the grant date fair value of the award. The fair value is recognized in earnings over the period during which an employee is required to provide the service. The Company accounts for forfeitures as they occur. Refer to Note 8 - Stock-Based Compensation in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for further information.

RESTRUCTURING

From time to time, the Company approves and implements restructuring plans to align internal resources and reduce costs. These plans may include employee terminations and contract cancellations. In 2023, the Company initiated a restructuring plan that resulted in the elimination of certain full-time positions. As a result, the Company recorded a pre-tax restructuring charge of$0.2 million and$0.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2024, and 2023, respectively, primarily related to severance and workforce optimization costs. These expenses are classified within general and administrative expenses in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations. Of the total restructuring costs, the Company paid $0.9 million in 2024 and$0.1 million in 2023.

INCOME TAXES

The Company uses the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes, in which deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to the differences between the carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities as reported in the consolidated balance sheets and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using the enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be reversed. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized as a component of the income tax provision in the period that includes the enactment date. A valuation allowance is established if it is more likely than not that all or a portion of the deferred tax assets will not be realized.

The Company’s tax positions are subject to income tax audits. The Company recognizes the tax benefit of an uncertain tax position only if it is more likely than not that the position is sustainable upon examination by the taxing authority, based on the technical merits. The tax benefit recognized is measured as the largest amount of benefit which is more likely than not (greater than 50% likely) to be realized upon settlement with the taxing authority. The Company recognizes interest accrued and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits in its tax provision.

The Company calculates the current and deferred income tax provision based on estimates and assumptions that could differ from the actual results reflected in income tax returns filed in subsequent years. Adjustments based on filed income tax returns are recorded when identified. The amount of income tax paid is subject to examination by U.S. federal and state tax authorities. The estimate of the potential outcome of any uncertain tax issue is subject to management’s assessment of the relevant risks, facts, and circumstances existing at that time. To the extent the assessment of such tax position changes, the change in estimate is recorded in the period in which the determination is made.

RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (“JOBS Act”) allows the Company, as an emerging growth company (“EGC”), to delay adoption of new or revised accounting pronouncements applicable to public companies until such pronouncements are applicable to private companies. The Company has elected to use this extended transition period under the JOBS Act until such time as the Company is no longer considered to be an EGC. The Company expects to no longer be eligible to qualify as an EGC after December 31, 2025, which is the last day of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of its first sale of common equity securities in an offering registered under the Securities Act.

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

In November 2023, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") 2023-07, Segment Reporting(Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures, requiring public entities to disclose information about their reportable segments’ significant expenses and other segment items on an interim and annual basis. Public entities with a single reportable segment are required to apply the disclosure requirements in ASU 2023-07, as well as all existing segment disclosures and reconciliation requirements in ASC 280 on an interim and annual basis. The Company adopted ASU 2023-07 during the year ended December 31, 2024. See Note 9 - Segment and Geographic Information in the accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements for further detail.

Accounting Pronouncements Issued but not Adopted

In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023-09 ("ASU 2023-09"), Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures, which requires public entities, on an annual basis, to provide disclosure of specific categories in the rate reconciliation, as well as disclosure of income taxes paid disaggregated by jurisdiction. ASU 2023-09 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting ASU 2023-09.

In November 2024, the FASB issued ASU 2024-03, Income Statement-Reporting Comprehensive Income-Expense Disaggregation Disclosures(Subtopic 220-40): Disaggregation of Income Statement Expenses, requiring public entities to disclose additional information about specific expense categories in the notes to the financial statements on an interim and annual basis. ASU 2024-03 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2026, and for interim periods beginning after December 15, 2027, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting ASU 2024-03.

NOTE 3 -EQUITY INVESTMENTS

EQUITY INVESTMENTS

The Company’s holds equity investments in Spiegel TV Geschichte und Wissen GmbH & Co. KG (the “Spiegel Venture”) and Watch Nebula LLC (“Nebula”). The Company accounts for these investments under the equity method of accounting. The carrying values for these investments as of December 31, 2024, and 2023, were as follows:

(in thousands)Spiegel VentureNebulaTotal
Balance, December 31, 2023$1,736$4,618$6,354
Equity method investment loss*(1,736)(770)(2,506)
Balance, December 31, 2024$—$3,848$3,848
* Equity method investment loss amounts include impairments during 2024 of $0.1 million for the Spiegel Venture.

Spiegel Venture

In July 2021, the Company acquired a 32% ownership in the Spiegel Venture for an initial investment of $3.3 million. The Spiegel Venture, which prior to the Company’s equity purchase, was jointly owned and operated by Spiegel TV GmbH ("Spiegel TV") and Autentic GmbH ("Autentic"), operatestwo documentary channels, and a free advertising-supported streaming television (FAST) channel, and receives a share of revenue from the Company's German-language SVOD service. The Spiegel Venture provides factual content to audiences in Germany and certain German-speaking regions of other countries. The Company has not received any dividends from the Spiegel Venture as of December 31, 2024.

Per the Share Purchase Agreement (as amended in early 2023, the “SPA”), in the event Spiegel Venture achieved certain financial targets during its 2022 fiscal period, the Company was required to make an additional payment related to its 32% equity ownership to both Spiegel TV and Autentic (the “Holdback Payment”). During the three months ended June 30, 2023, the Company determined Spiegel Venture had achieved such financial targets, resulting in the Company paying the Holdback Payment in the amount of $0.9 million during July 2023. This payment was recorded as an equity investment in the balance sheet.

The Company has a call option that permits it to require Spiegel TV and Autentic to sell their ownership interests in the Spiegel Venture (“Call Option”) to the Company. The Call Option, exercisable at a value based on a determinable calculation in the SPA, is initially exercisable only during the period that is the later of (i) the 30-day period following the adoption of Spiegel Venture’s audited financial statements for the fiscal year 2025, and (ii) the period between March 1, 2026, and March 31, 2026.

Together with the Call Option, each of Spiegel TV and Autentic has a put option that permits it to require the Company to purchase their interest (“Put Option”) at a value based on a determinable calculation outlined in the SPA. The Put Option is initially exercisable only during the period that is the later of i) the 60-day period following the adoption of Spiegel Venture’s audited financial statements for the fiscal year 2025, and (ii) the period between April 1, 2026, and April 30, 2026.

In the event that neither the Call Option nor the Put Option is exercised, both options will continue to be available to each respective party in perpetuity beginning in the following year, with its exercise limited to the applicable date range outlined above.

Nebula

Nebula is an SVOD technology platform built for and by a group of independent content creators. Prior to the Company’s investment, Nebula was a wholly owned subsidiary of Standard Broadcast LLC (“Standard”). On August 23, 2021, the Company purchased a 12% ownership interest in Nebula for $6.0 million. Upon its initial investment, the Company obtained 25% representation on Nebula’s Board of Directors.

Since the time of its original investment, the Company purchased additional incremental ownership interests, each for a payment of $0.8 million and representing 1.625% of equity ownership, if Nebula met certain quarterly targets. The Company made three subsequent incremental purchases, bringing its total ownership interest in Nebula to 16.875% as of December 31, 2024. The opportunity or obligation to make additional purchases ended as of September 30, 2023. Because the Company did not purchase at leasttwo consecutive ownership interests in Nebula, effective December 15, 2023, Standard removed the Company’s seat on the Nebula Board of Directors. The Company has not received dividends from Nebula as of December 31, 2024

Beginning August 2021, the Company included access to Nebula’s SVOD service as a part of a combined CuriosityStream /Watch Nebula subscription offer and as part of the Company’s Smart Bundle subscription package. As part of this arrangement, the Company shared revenue with Nebula, based on certain metrics, and paid monthly. On September 26, 2023, Nebula provided the Company with a notice of non-renewal (the “Nebula Non-Renewal”), which resulted in the expiration of the revenue share at the end of 2023. Nebula was still required to make its service available to subscribers to either of these offerings through the end of the term of any such subscription that existed as of December 31, 2023.

Impairment Assessment

The Company regularly reviews its investments in equity method investees for impairment, including when the carrying value of an investment exceeds its related market or fair value. If it has been determined that an investment has sustained an “other-than-temporary” decline in value, the investment is written down to its fair value. The factors the Company considers in determining whether an “other-than-temporary” decline has occurred include, but are not limited to, (i) the determined market value of the investee in relation to its cost basis, (ii) the financial condition and operating performance of the investee and (iii) the Company’s intent and ability to retain the investment for a sufficient period of time to allow for recovery in the market value of the investment.

As a result of the Company’s impairment analysis related to the Spiegel Venture, the Company determined the carrying value of its investment in the Spiegel Venture exceeded the fair value as of December 31, 2024, and as such the Company recorded a $0.1 million impairment. This impairment charge in included within equity method investment loss for the year ended December 31, 2024.

NOTE 4 -BALANCE SHEET COMPONENTS

CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS, RESTRICTED CASH AND INVESTMENTS

A reconciliation of the Company’s cash and cash equivalents in the consolidated balance sheets to cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash in the consolidated statements of cash flows as of December 31, 2024, and 2023 is as follows:

Year Ended December 31,
(in thousands)20242023
Cash and cash equivalents$7,826$37,715
Restricted cash125500
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash$7,951$38,215

As of December 31, 2024, and 2023, restricted cash included cash deposits of $0.1 million and $0.5 million respectively, required by a bank as collateral related to corporate credit card agreements.

To determine the fair value of its investments in money market funds and corporate debt securities, the Company uses unadjusted quoted market prices (Level 1 inputs), and quoted prices for comparable assets (Level 2 inputs), respectively. As of December 31, 2024, and December 31, 2023, the fair value of the Company’s securities investments was as follows:

December 31, 2024 · December 31, 2023
(in thousands)Cash and Cash EquivalentsShort-term InvestmentsInvestments (non-current)TotalCash and Cash EquivalentsTotal
Level 1 Securities
Money market funds$3,512$—$—$3,512$36,072$36,072
Certificate of deposit—9,000—9,000——
U.S. government securities—1,495—1,495——
Total Level 1 Securities3,51210,495—14,00736,07236,072
Level 2 Securities
Corporate debt securities64913,7367,45921,844——
Total Level 2 Securities64913,7367,45921,844——
Total$4,161$24,231$7,459$35,851$36,072$36,072

The following table provides the amortized cost and estimated fair value of investments with fixed maturities as of December 31, 2024:

December 31, 2024
(in thousands)Amortized CostGross Unrealized GainsGross Unrealized LossesEstimated Fair Value
Debt Securities:
Certificate of Deposit$9,000$—$—$9,000
Corporate Debt Securities21,8531(10)21,844
U.S. Government Debt Securities1,495——1,495
$32,348$1$(10)$32,339

The Company didnot record any realized gains or losses for the years ended December 31, 2024, and 2023.

Accrued interest on held-to-maturity securities is excluded from the amortized cost basis. As of December 31, 2024, the total accrued interest receivable excluded from the disclosed amortized cost basis was $0.3 million, net of any allowance for credit losses.

The Company’s held-to-maturity investments as of December 31, 2024, consist of short to medium term, investment-grade debt securities, primarily corporate bonds and U.S. Treasury securities. Based on external credit ratings and economic forecasts, the Company determined that the expected credit losses over the lifetime of these securities are immaterial. Therefore, no allowance for credit losses has been recorded for these securities as of December 31, 2024.

The following table provides the amortized cost and estimated fair value of investments with fixed maturities as December 31, 2024:

December 31, 2024
(in thousands)Amortized CostEstimated Fair Value
Due in one year or less$24,885$24,880
Due after one year through five years7,4637,459
Due after five years——
Total$32,348$32,339

CONTENT ASSETS

As of December 31, 2024, and 2023, content assets, net consisted of the following:

Year Ended December 31,
(in thousands)20242023
Licensed content, net
Released, less amortization and impairment$10,190$8,271
Prepaid and unreleased3,1398,357
Total licensed content, net13,32916,628
Produced content, net
Released, less amortization and impairment17,71722,880
In production4655,435
Total produced content, net18,18228,315
Total content assets, net$31,511$44,943

Of the$10.2 million unamortized cost of licensed content that had been released as of December 31, 2024, the Company expects that $5.6 million, $2.9 million, and $0.8 million will be amortized in each of the next three years. Of the$17.7 million unamortized cost of produced content that had been released as of December 31, 2024, the Company expects that $6.8 million, $5.7 million, and $3.4 million will be amortized in each of the next three years.

As of December 31, 2024, the Company has licensed content that is contractually completed but not yet released. The timing of the release for this content is uncertain, and therefore, the Company cannot reasonably estimate the portion of costs that will be amortized in the next 12 months. The Company will recognize amortization once the content is published and available for monetization.

Impairment Assessment

The Company’s primary business model is subscription-based as opposed to a model based on generating revenues at a specific title level. Content assets are predominantly monetized as a group and therefore are reviewed in aggregate at a group level when an event or change in circumstances indicates a change in the expected usefulness of the content or that the fair value may be less than unamortized cost. If such changes are identified, the aggregated content library will be stated at the lower of unamortized cost or fair value. In addition, unamortized costs are written off for content assets that have been, or are expected to be abandoned.

During the three months ended September 30, 2023, due to the continued adverse macro and microeconomic conditions, including the competitive environment and its impact on the Company’s subscriber growth, the Company revised its forecasted subscriber growth and forecasted cash flow assumptions. Additionally, companies in the streaming industry experienced a decline in market valuations, and reflecting this market trend and the factors above, the market price of the Company’s common shares had declined significantly through September 30, 2023.

Given these factors, as well as the Company’s declining market capitalization and operating losses during the quarter, the Company identified an indicator of impairment related to its content asset group and performed an analysis of content assets to assess if the fair value was less than unamortized cost. To determine if an impairment existed, the Company utilized a traditional discounted cash flow approach based on expectations for the monetization of its content assets in the aggregate, including estimates for future cash inflows and outflows. As a result of this impairment analysis of content assets, the Company determined that the unamortized cost exceeded the fair value, and as such, the Company recorded a $19.0 million impairment for the three months ended September 30, 2023.

The discounted cash flow analysis includes cash flow estimates of revenue and costs, as well as a discount rate (a Level 3 fair value measurement). Estimates of future revenue and costs involve measurement uncertainty, and it is therefore possible that further reductions in the carrying value of content assets may be required as a consequence of changes in management’s future revenue estimates.

Within the discounted cash flow analysis used in the content impairment assessment, the Company used EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) margin rates ranging from 50.0% to 68.0%. These rates are generally dependent on overall market growth rates, the competitive environment, inflation and relative currency exchange rates and could be adversely impacted by a sustained decrease in any of these measures, all of which the Company considered in determining the assumptions used in the analysis.

The Company used a discount rate of 14.0% in the discounted cash flow analysis. This rate was based on the weighted average cost of capital of the Company plus a risk premium representing the risk associated with the Company’s content assets. The discount rate may be impacted by adverse changes in the macroeconomic environment and volatility in the debt and equity markets.

No impairment charges were recognized during the year ended December 31, 2024.

Amortization

In accordance with its accounting policy for content assets, the Company amortizes licensed content costs and produced content costs, which is included within cost of revenues in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations. For the years ended December 31, 2024, and 2023, content amortization was as follows:

Year Ended December 31,
(in thousands)20242023
Licensed content$8,203$7,250
Produced content10,92715,655
Total$19,130$22,905

ACCRUED EXPENSES AND OTHER LIABILITIES

Accrued expenses and other liabilities consisted of the following as of December 31, 2024, and December 31, 2023:

Year Ended December 31,
(in thousands)20242023
Accrued payroll and benefits$2,540$1,254
Dividends payable1,415—
Sales and income tax liabilities9461,095
Operating lease liabilities396365
Other1,706991
Total$7,003$3,705

PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT

As of December 31, 2024, and 2023, property and equipment, summarized by major classifications, were as follows:

EstimatedUseful Life(in Years) · Year Ended December 31,
(in thousands) · 2024 · 2023
Furniture and fixtures10 to 15$101$101
Equipment51,0401,040
Computer and software3 to 5470570
Website and application development33737
Leasehold improvementsLesser of lease term or lives703703
Work-in-progress—775
Property and equipment, gross2,4282,456
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization1,9081,729
Property and equipment, net$520$727

Depreciation and amortization expense related to property and equipment, including the amortization of leasehold improvements, was $0.3 million and $0.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2024, and 2023, respectively.

WARRANT LIABILITY

As described in Note 6 - Stockholders' Equity, the Private Placement Warrants are classified as a non-current liability and reported at fair value at each reporting period. The fair value of the Private Placement Warrants as of December 31, 2024, and 2023, was as follows:

Year Ended December 31,
(in thousands)20242023
Private Placement Warrants$88$44
Total Level 3$88$44

NOTE 5 -REVENUE

The following table sets forth the Company’s disaggregated revenues for the years ended December 31, 2024, and 2023, as well as the relative percentage to total revenue.

Year Ended December 31,
(in thousands) · 2024 · 2023
Direct Business:
Direct-to-Consumer$31,08561%$29,90052%
Partner Direct7,26014%4,7098%
Enterprise247—%3671%
Total Direct Business38,59275%34,97661%
Content Licensing:
Library sales*7,35714%11,73921%
Presales4411%2,3084%
Total Content Licensing7,79815%14,04725%
Bundled Distribution3,9378%6,09811%
Other8072%1,7683%
Total revenues$51,134$56,889
* Amounts includes $4.5 million and $9.9 million from trade and barter transactions for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

REMAINING PERFORMANCE OBLIGATIONS

As of December 31, 2024, the Company expects to recognize revenues in the future related to performance obligations that are unsatisfied as follows:

Year Ended December 31,
(in thousands)2025202620272028ThereafterTotal
Remaining performance obligations$2,130$407$142$117$68$2,864

These amounts include only fixed consideration or minimum guarantees and do not include amounts related to (i) contracts with an original expected term of one year or less or (ii) licenses of content that are solely based on sales or usage-based royalties.

DEFERRED REVENUE

Contract liabilities (i.e., deferred revenue) consists of subscriber and affiliate license fees billed that have not been recognized, amounts contractually billed or collected for content licensing sales in advance of the related content being made available to the customer, and unredeemed gift cards and other prepaid subscriptions that have not been redeemed.

As of December 31, 2024, and 2023, total deferred revenues were $11.4 million and $15.2 million, respectively, with the non-current portions of $0.4 million and $0.6 million as of December 31, 2024, and 2023, respectively, included in other liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets.

For the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company recognized revenues of $14.6 million related to amounts deferred as of December 31, 2023.

TRADE AND BARTER TRANSACTIONS

In the second quarter of 2023, the Company began entering into trade and barter transactions primarily for the purpose of exchanging content assets through licensing agreements with media counterparties. Certain transactions may also include the exchange of advertising, whereby the Company and its counterparty exchange media campaigns or other promotional services.

For content acquired through trade and barter transactions, the Company records the acquired assets in the consolidated balance sheet and amortizes those assets over the term of the content license, in accordance with the Company’s content and amortization policies. For other products and services received through trade and barter transactions, the Company records operating expenses upon receipt of such products and services, as applicable.

The transaction price for these contracts is measured at the estimated fair value of the non-cash consideration received unless this is not reasonably estimable, in which case, the consideration is measured based on the standalone selling price of the services provided. For an exchange of content, the performance obligation is satisfied at the time the content is made available for the counterparty to use, which represents the point in time that control is transferred. For advertising, the performance obligation is satisfied upon the Company’s delivery of the media campaign or other service to the counterparty.

For the years ended December 31, 2024, and 2023, trade and barter revenues were as follows:

Year Ended December 31,
(in thousands)20242023
Trade and barter license fees: Content licensing$4,530$9,873
Other trade and barter revenue*—1,130
Total trade and barter revenues$4,530$11,003
* Other revenue primarily relates to other marketing services

For the years ended December 31, 2024, and 2023, trade and barter advertising and marketing expenses were as follows:

Year Ended December 31,
(in thousands)20242023
Trade and barter advertising and marketing$—$1,480

For the years ended December 31, 2024, and 2023, additions to content assets resulting from trade and barter transactions were as follows:

Year Ended December 31,
(in thousands)20242023
Trade and barter additions to content assets$4,530$9,523

NOTE 6 -STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

COMMON STOCK

As of December 31, 2024, and 2023, the Company had authorized the issuance of 126,000,000 shares of capital stock, par value of $0.0001 per share, consisting of (i)125,000,000 shares of Common Stock and (ii)1,000,000 shares of preferred stock.

TREASURY STOCK

On June 10, 2024, the Company's Board of Directors (the "Board") authorized and approved a share repurchase program for up to $4 million of the then-outstanding shares of the Company’s common stock. Under the stock repurchase program, the Company may repurchase shares through open market purchases, privately negotiated transactions, block purchases, or otherwise in accordance with applicable federal securities laws.

As of December 31, 2024, the Company had repurchased 216,000 shares of its common stock at an average price of $1.16 per share. The total cost of the repurchase was $0.3 million, which has been recorded as treasury stock in the equity section of the Company’s consolidated balance sheets.

WARRANTS

As of December 31, 2024, the Company had 3,054,203 publicly traded warrants outstanding that were sold as part of the units of SAQN in its initial public offering on November 22, 2019, and that were issued to the PIPE Investors in connection with the Business Combination (the “Public Warrants” and, together with the Private Placement Warrants, the "Warrants") and 3,676,000 Private Placement Warrants outstanding. The Private Placement Warrants are liability-classified, and the Public Warrants are equity-classified.

Each whole warrant entitles the registered holder to purchaseone share of the Company’s Common Stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share. All Warrants expire on October 14, 2025.

The Company has the right to redeem the outstanding Public Warrants in whole and not in part at a price of $0.01 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption, if and only if the last sale price of the Company’s Common Stock matched or exceeded $18.00 per share for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the Company sent the notice of redemption to the warrant holders.

The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the Public Warrants except that, so long as they are held by Software Acquisition Holdings LLC or its permitted transferees: (i) they will not be redeemable by the Company; (ii) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis; and (iii) they are subject to registration rights.

No warrants were exercised during the years ended December 31, 2024, and 2023.

The warrant liability related to the Private Placement Warrants is recorded at fair value as of each reporting date with the change in fair value reported in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations as “Change in fair value of warrant liability” until the warrants are exercised, expired or other facts and circumstances lead the warrant liability to be reclassified to stockholder’s equity (accumulated deficit). The fair value of the warrant liability for the Private Placement Warrants was estimated using a Black-Scholes pricing model using Level 3 inputs. The significant assumptions used in preparing the Black-Scholes option pricing model to determine fair value as of December 31, 2024, and 2023 were as follows:

Year Ended December 31,
20242023
Exercise price$11.50$11.50
Stock Price (CURI)$1.53$0.54
Expected volatility107.8%100.0%
Expected warrant term (years)0.81.8
Risk-free interest rate4.16%4.23%
Dividend yield1.6%0%
Fair Value per Private Placement Warrant$0.02$0.01

The changes in fair value of the private placement warrant liability for the years ended December 31, 2024, and 2023 resulted in a (loss) gain of $(0.04) million and $0.2 million, respectively.

NOTE 7 -EARNINGS (LOSS) PER SHARE

Basic and diluted earnings (loss) per share are calculated on the basis of the weighted average number of shares of the Company’s Common Stock outstanding during the respective periods. Diluted earnings (loss) per share give effect to all dilutive potential common shares outstanding during the period using the treasury stock method for stock options and other potentially dilutive securities. In calculating diluted earnings (loss) per share, the average fair value of the Company’s Common Stock for the period is used to determine the number of shares assumed to be purchased from the exercise price of the options. Purchases of treasury stock reduce the outstanding shares commencing on the date that the stock is purchased. Common stock equivalents are excluded from the calculation when a loss is incurred as their effect would be anti-dilutive.

For the years ended December 31, 2024, and 2023, the components of basic and diluted net loss per share were as follows:

Year Ended December 31,
(in thousands)20242023
Numerator — Basic and Diluted EPS
Net loss$(12,941)$(48,896)
Denominator — Basic and Diluted EPS
Weighted–average shares54,48053,044
Net loss per share — Basic and Diluted$(0.24)$(0.92)

Common shares issuable for warrants, options, and restricted stock units (RSU) represent the total amount of outstanding warrants, stock options, and restricted stock units as of December 31, 2024, and 2023. For the years ended December 31, 2024, and 2023, the following share equivalents were excluded from the calculation of diluted net loss per share as the inclusion of such shares would have been be anti-dilutive.

Year Ended December 31,
(in thousands)20242023
Options2732
Restricted Stock Units2,0612,058
Warrants6,7306,730
Total8,8188,820

NOTE 8 -STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

The Company measures the cost of employee services received in exchange for an award of equity instruments based on the grant date fair value of the award. The fair value is recognized in earnings over the period during which an employee is required to provide the service. The Company accounts for forfeitures as they occur.

In October 2020, the Board adopted the CuriosityStream 2020 Omnibus Plan (the “2020 Plan”). The 2020 Plan became effective upon consummation of the Business Combination and succeeds the Legacy CuriosityStream Stock Option Plan. Upon adoption of the 2020 Plan, a total of 7,725,000 shares were approved to be issued as stock options, share appreciation rights, restricted stock units and restricted stock.

The following table summarizes stock option and RSU activity, prices, and values from December 31, 2023, to December 31, 2024:

Stock Options · Restricted Stock Units
Number of Shares Available for IssuanceUnder the Plan · Number of Shares* · Weighted- Average Exercise Price · Weighted- Average Remaining Contractual Term (in Years) · Number of Shares · Weighted- Average Grant Date Fair Value
Balance as of December 31, 20234,762,00432,292$5.795.92,057,946$2.57
Granted(5,498,690)———5,498,690$0.96
Options exercised and RSUs vested1,511,328———(5,301,191)$3.21
Forfeited or expired199,831(5,306)$9.81—(194,525)$2.20
Balance as of December 31, 2024974,47326,986$5.004.672,060,920$1.67
Exercisable as of December 31, 202327,143$5.445.8
Exercisable as of December 31, 202426,986$5.004.67
Unvested as of December 31, 20235,149$7.646.7
Unvested as of December 31, 2024———

No options were exercised during the years ended December 31, 2024, and 2023.

Stock options and RSU awards generally vest on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis over a period offour years from the grant date. When options are exercised, the Company issues unissued shares of Common Stock to satisfy share option exercises. Upon vesting and distribution of RSUs, the Company issues unissued shares of Common Stock to satisfy RSUs vested, net of shares withheld for taxes if elected by the RSU holder.

The fair value of stock option awards is estimated using the Black-Scholes option pricing model, which includes a number of assumptions including the Company’s estimates of stock price volatility, employee stock option exercise behaviors, future dividend payments, and risk-free interest rates.

The expected term of options granted is the estimated period of time from the beginning of the vesting period to the date of expected exercise or other settlement, based on historical exercises and post-vesting terminations. The Company generally estimates expected term based on the midpoint between the vesting date and the end of the contractual term, also known as the simplified method, given the lack of historical exercise behavior.

On April 28, 2023, the Board authorized, and on June 14, 2023, the Company’s shareholders approved, a stock option exchange program (the “Exchange“) that permitted certain employees and executive officers to exchange certain outstanding stock options with exercise prices substantially above the market price at that time of the Company’s Common Stock for RSUs of an equivalent fair value. The Exchange was completed in July 2023. For options that had already vested at the time of the Exchange, the resulting RSUs vested in July 2024. Otherwise, the vesting schedules for unvested options at the time of the Exchange remained the same for the resulting RSUs. As a result of the Exchange,4.6 million outstanding eligible stock options were exchanged for 1.6 million new RSUs, with a fair value of $0.99 per share on the date of the Exchange. There wasno incremental compensation expense recorded by the Company as a result of the Exchange.

The Company uses its own historical volatility as well as the historical volatility of similar public companies for estimating volatility. The risk-free interest rate is estimated using the rate of return on U.S. Treasury securities with maturities that approximate the expected term of the option.

For the years ended December 31, 2024, and 2023, the stock-based compensation expense were as follows:

Year Ended December 31,
(in thousands)20242023
Stock-based compensation—Options$6$1,559
Stock-based compensation—RSUs6,5622,440
Total stock-based compensation$6,568$3,999

Stock-based compensation is measured at the grant date based on the fair value of the award and is recognized on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period.

The following table summarizes the total remaining unrecognized compensation cost as of December 31, 2024, related to unvested RSUs, and the weighted average remaining years over which the cost will be recognized:

(in thousands)Total Unrecognized Compensation CostWeighted Average Remaining Years
Restricted Stock Units$1,8060.10

NOTE 9 -SEGMENT AND GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION

The Company operates asone reportable segment. The Company’s Chief Operating Decision Maker ("CODM"), its Chief Executive Officer ("CEO"), reviews financial information on a consolidated basis to make operating decisions, assess financial performance, and allocate resources.

In evaluating performance, the CODM primarily assesses operating loss and net loss, as reported on the consolidated statement of operations and regularly reviews certain significant expense categories, including content amortization, other cost of revenues, advertising and marketing, payroll and related expenses, and other general and administrative expenses. These expense categories are considered key factors in managing the business and guiding resource allocation decisions.

This approach ensures that the Company’s financial reporting reflects the way management monitors expenses and overall financial performance.

The following table presents financial information with respect to the Company’s single operating segment for the years ended December 31, 2024, and 2023;

Year Ended December 31,
(in thousands)20242023
Revenues$51,134$56,889
Less:
Content amortization19,13022,905
Other cost of revenues6,23312,648
Advertising and marketing14,43417,390
Payroll and related10,51512,186
Other general and administrative14,15517,261
Impairment of content assets—18,970
Total operating expenses64,467101,360
Operating loss(13,333)(44,471)
Other segment items*$524.00$(3,919.00)
Loss before income taxes$(12,809)$(48,390)
Provision for income taxes$132$506
Net loss$(12,941)$(48,896)
* Other segment items include changes in the fair value of warrant liabilities, interest and other income, and equity method investment loss. See the consolidated financial statements for additional information regarding the Company’s operating segment.

All long-lived tangible assets are located in the U.S. For the years ended December 31, 2024, and 2023, revenue by geographic region based on customer location was as follows:

Year Ended December 31,
(in thousands) · 2024 · 2023
United States$33,45765%$31,97856%
International17,67735%24,91144%
Total$51,134100%$56,889100%

No revenue from any foreign country comprised of 10% or greater of total revenue for either of the periods presented.

NOTE 10 -RELATED-PARTY TRANSACTIONS

EQUITY INVESTMENTS

For the years ended December 31, 2024, and 2023, the Company recognized $0.2 million and $1.1 million of revenue, respectively, related to license fees from the Spiegel Venture. No revenue was recognized from Nebula during 2024 and 2023 related to advertising services provided to Nebula.

For the years ended December 31, 2024, and 2023, the Company also recorded zero and $4.5 million, respectively, in cost of revenues pertaining to the revenue share arrangement with Nebula from subscription sales of certain bundled subscription packages. This revenue share was recorded in cost of revenues on the consolidated statements of operations.

As of December 31, 2024, and 2023, the impacts of the arrangements with Spiegel Venture and Nebula on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets were as follows:

Year Ended December 31,
(in thousands)20242023
Accounts receivable$248$811
Accounts payable—374
Accrued expenses and other liabilities8—

For the years ended December 31, 2024, and 2023, the impacts of arrangements with the Spiegel Venture and Nebula on the Company’s consolidated statements of operations were as follows:

Year Ended December 31,
(in thousands)20242023
Revenues$219$1,091
Cost of revenues644,609

OPERATING LEASE

The Company sublets a portion of its office space to Hendricks Investment Holdings, LLC, which is considered a related party as it is managed by various members of the Board. The Company accounts for the arrangement as an operating lease. Refer to Note 12 - Leases for further information.

NOTE 11 -RETIREMENT PLAN

The Company administers and participates in a 401(k) plan that covers employees 21 years of age or older with three months or greater of service. The plan permits elective deferrals from each participant’s compensation up to the maximum allowed by law. The Company matches employee deferrals at 100% on up to 3% of compensation and 50% of employee deferrals between 3% and 5% of compensation. Participants are immediately vested in their elective deferrals and the Company matching contributions. For the years ended December 31, 2024, and 2023 the Company made matching contributions of $0.2 million and$0.3 million, respectively.

NOTE 12 -LEASES

COMPANY AS LESSEE

The Company is party to a non-cancellable operating lease agreement for office space, which expires in 2033. The Company’s operating lease for this office space includes fixed rent payments and variable lease payments, which are primarily related to common area maintenance and utility charges. The Company elected not to separate lease and non-lease components, and as such, all amounts paid under the lease are classified as either fixed or variable lease payments. The Company has determined that no renewal clauses are reasonably certain of being exercised and therefore has not included any renewal periods within the lease term for this lease.

As of December 31, 2024, and 2023, the Company held operating lease right-of-use (ROU) assets of $3.1 million and $3.3 million, respectively; current lease liabilities of $0.4 million and $0.4 million, respectively; and non-current lease liabilities of $3.9 million and $4.3 million, respectively. In measuring operating lease liabilities, the Company used a weighted average discount rate of 4.4% as of December 31, 2024. This rate was determined based on the Company's incremental borrowing rate, reflecting the interest rate the Company would have to pay to borrow on a collateralized basis over a similar term and in a similar economic environment. The weighted average remaining lease term as of December 31, 2024, was 8.17 years.

Components of Lease Cost

For the years ended December 31, 2024, and 2023, the Company’s total operating lease cost was comprised of the following:

Year Ended December 31,
(in thousands)20242023
Operating lease cost$477$481
Variable lease cost5052
Total lease cost$527$533

Maturity of Lease Liabilities

As of December 31, 2024, maturities of the Company's operating lease liabilities, which do not include short-term leases and variable lease payments, are as follows:

(in thousands)
2025$571
2026585
2027600
2028615
2029630
Thereafter2,101
Total Lease Payments5,102
Less: imputed interest(819)
Present value of total lease liabilities$4,283

COMPANY AS LESSOR

The Company sublets a portion of its office space to a related party and accounts for the arrangement as an operating lease. Related-party sublease rental income is recognized on a straight-line basis and is included in Interest and other income in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations. For the year ended December 31, 2024, operating lease income from the Company’s sublet was immaterial. As of December 31, 2024, total remaining future minimum lease payments receivable on the Company’s operating lease was $0.2 million.

NOTE 13 -COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

CONTENT COMMITMENTS

As of December 31, 2024, the Company's content obligations amounted to $0.4 million, including $0.3 million recorded within content liabilities in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets, and $0.1 million of obligations not recorded as they did not yet meet the asset recognition criteria for content assets. These obligations are expected to be paid during the year ending December 31,2025.

As of December 31, 2023, the Company's content obligations amounted to $1.1 million, including $0.4 million recorded within content liabilities in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets, and $0.7 million of obligations not recorded as they did not yet meet the asset recognition criteria for content assets.

Content obligations include amounts related to licensed, commissioned and internally produced streaming content. An obligation for the production of content includes non-cancelable commitments under creative talent and employment agreements. An obligation for the licensed and commissioned content is incurred at the time the Company enters into an agreement to obtain future titles. Once a title becomes available, a content liability is generally recorded. Certain agreements include the obligation to license rights for unknown future titles, the ultimate quantity and/or fees for which are not yet determinable as of the reporting date.

ADVERTISING COMMITMENTS

The Company periodically enters into agreements to receive future advertising and marketing services as part of various licensee agreements, and the Company reports commitments when the applicable agreements provide for specific committed amounts. As of December 31, 2024, the Company's future advertising commitments totaled $1.4 million, all of which the Company expects to pay during the year ending December 31, 2025.

CONTINGENCIES

The Company is involved, from time to time, in lawsuits arising in the normal course of business. We believe the potential outcomes from these lawsuits will not have a material adverse impact on our financial position or results of operations. The Company evaluates contingencies on an ongoing basis and establishes loss provisions for matters in which losses are probable and the amount of loss can be reasonably estimated. As part of this evaluation, no loss contingencies were identified for the years ended December 31, 2024, and 2023.

NOTE 14 -SALE OF EMPLOYEE RETENTION CREDIT CLAIM

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company became eligible for the Employee Retention Credit ("ERC") under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act ("CARES Act") and subsequent legislation. The ERC is a refundable tax credit against certain employment taxes, designed to support businesses in retaining employees during periods of economic hardship. The Company determined its total eligible ERC to be $1,191,869.

Prior to fourth quarter 2024(i.e., before October 1, 2024), the Company had not recognized the ERC as an asset or recorded any related income. Upon communication with the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") acknowledging our claim, the Company determined that it was entitled to the credit and recognized the ERC as an asset and corresponding income in fourth quarter of 2024. Subsequently, during the same quarter, the Company executed an agreement to transfer its rights to the ERC to a third-party buyer. As a result of this transaction, the Company recognized the net proceeds of $994,538 as Other Income in its financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2024.

On December 27, 2024, the Company entered into an agreement (the “Agreement”) with a third party (the “Buyer”) to sell its rights to the anticipated ERC proceeds. The key terms of the Agreement are as follows:

Purchase Price: The Buyer agreed to purchase the ERC at 85% of the claimed amount, resulting in a gross purchase price of $1,013,088.

Holdback: A holdback of $18,550 was applied to the gross purchase price to cover potential contingencies, resulting in net proceeds of $994,538 received by the Company at closing.

Transfer of Rights: The Agreement stipulates that the Buyer acquires all rights to any ERC-related refunds, payments, or credits from the IRS.

The Agreement includes a provision that allows the Buyer to require the Company to repurchase the ERC claim, in whole or in part, if the IRS disallows or reduces the ERC amount. Based on the Company’s thorough documentation supporting ERC eligibility and the absence of any indications of an IRS challenge, management believes the likelihood of such a repurchase obligation is remote. Consequently, no liability has been recognized for this contingent obligation.

In accordance with ASU 2021-10, the Company provides the following disclosures related to the ERC transaction:

Nature of the Assistance: The ERC is a refundable tax credit provided by the U.S. government to assist employers in retaining employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Significant Terms and Conditions: The Company sold its rights to the ERC proceeds to the Buyer at 85% of the claimed amount, with a holdback applied. The Buyer assumes all rights to any ERC-related refunds, payments, or credits from the IRS. A clawback provision exists, allowing the Buyer to require repurchase if the ERC is disallowed or reduced by the IRS.

Accounting Policies: The Company recognized the net proceeds from the sale as interest and other income upon execution of the Agreement, as the ERC had not been previously recorded as an asset or income.

The net proceeds of $994,538 were recorded as interest and other income in the consolidated statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2024. No asset or liability related to the ERC remained on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet as of that date.

NOTE 15 -INCOME TAXES

For the years ended December 31, 2024, and 2023, the components of the provision for income taxes were as follows:

Year Ended December 31,
(in thousands)20242023
Current:
Federal$2$—
State and Local1577
Foreign115429
Total current provision$132$506
Deferred:
Federal$—$—
State and local——
Foreign——
Total deferred provision$—$—
Total tax provision$132$506

For the years ended December 31, 2024, and 2023, the following table reconciles the Company’s effective income tax rate to the U.S. federal statutory income tax rate:

Year Ended December 31,
(in thousands) · 2024 · 2023
Loss before income taxes$(12,809)$(48,390)
U.S. federal statutory income tax provision (benefit)$(2,697)21.1%$(10,152)21.0%
State Taxes(351)2.7%(1,635)3.4%
Permanent Items1,013(7.9)%212(0.4)%
Change in Valuation Allowance(1,782)13.9%11,786(24.4)%
Deferred Adjustments3,314(25.9)%——%
RTP Adjustments229(1.8)%368(0.8)%
Foreign Withholding Taxes115(0.9)%254(0.5)%
Current/Deferred Rate Differential2—%——%
Change in State Rate266(2.1)%(326)0.7%
Other24(0.2)%——%
Total tax provision$132(1.0)%$506(1.0)%

For the years ended December 31, 2024, and 2023, the Company recorded a tax provision of $0.1 million and $0.5 million, respectively, primarily related to foreign withholding and income taxes. These provisions for income taxes differ from the federal statutory rate primarily due to the Company being in a full valuation allowance position and not recognizing a benefit for either federal or state income tax purposes.

Deferred income taxes reflect the net tax effect of temporary differences between the amounts recorded for financial reporting purposes and the bases recognized for tax purposes. As of December 31, 2024, and 2023, the significant components of deferred tax assets and liabilities were as follows:

Year Ended December 31,
(in thousands)20242023
Deferred tax assets:
Net operating loss carryforwards$56,835$54,962
Accrued expenses and reserves712401
Intangibles and content assets7,2677,439
Lease liability1,0311,143
Stock based compensation1463,540
Other8021,175
Total deferred tax asset66,79368,660
Valuation allowance(66,055)(67,837)
Deferred tax assets, net of valuation allowance$738$823
Deferred tax liabilities:
ROU asset(738)(823)
Deferred tax liabilities, net$—$—

As of December 31, 2024, and 2023, the Company maintained a valuation allowance on substantially all of its deferred tax assets. The deferred tax assets predominantly relate to operating losses, intangibles and content assets, and stock-based compensation. As a result of Legacy CuriosityStream’s conversion from an LLC to a C corporation in 2018, Legacy CuriosityStream recognized a partial step-up in the tax basis of intangibles and content assets that will be recovered as those assets are sold or the basis is amortized. On the date of the conversion, Legacy CuriosityStream recorded an estimated net deferred tax asset relating to this partial step-up in tax basis.

The valuation allowance was determined in accordance with applicable accounting guidance, which requires an assessment of both positive and negative evidence when determining whether it is more likely than not that deferred tax assets are recoverable. Such assessment is required on a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction basis. The Company’s history of cumulative losses, along with expected future U.S. losses, required that the Company record a full valuation allowance against all net deferred tax assets. The Company intends to maintain a full valuation allowance on net deferred tax assets until sufficient positive evidence exists to support a reversal of the valuation allowance.

As of December 31, 2024, and 2023, the Company held federal net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $229.5 million and $220.2 million, respectively, which do not expire. As of December 31, 2024, and 2023, the Company held gross state net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $145.5 million and $146.4 million, respectively, which begin to expire in 2028. All of the federal and state net operating losses may be subject to change of owne rship limitations provided by the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and similar state provisions. An annual loss limitation may result in the expiration or reduced utilization of the net operating losses.

The Company has not been audited by the IRS or any state income or franchise tax agency, but tax returns remain open to examination subject to a three to four year statute of limitations, depending on the state.

The Company has not recorded a liability related to uncertain tax positions in the consolidated financial statements. The Company recognizes the tax benefit of an uncertain tax position only if it is more likely than not that the position is sustainable upon examination by the taxing authority, based on the technical merits. The tax benefit recognized is measured as the largest amount of benefit which is more likely than not (greater than 50% likely) to be realized upon settlement with the taxing authority. The Company recognizes interest accruedand penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits in its tax provision.

NOTE 16 -SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

On November 5, 2024, the Board declared the cash dividend of $0.025 per share to be paid on March 28, 2025, to all holders of record of Common Stock at the close of business on March 14, 2025. On January 30, 2025, the Board increased the dividend from $0.025 per share to $0.030 per share. Subsequently, on March 10, 2025, the Board further increased the dividend to $0.040 per share, bringing the expected aggregate payment to $2.3 million, which is expected to be paid from available cash on hand.

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