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Joint Ventures
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2018
Joint Ventures
Note 10 — Joint Ventures

The Company owns a fifty percent interest in a joint venture (“Pacific Animation Partners”) with the U.S. entertainment subsidiary of a leading Japanese advertising and animation production company. The joint venture was created to develop and produce a boys’ animated television show, which it licensed worldwide for television broadcast as well as consumer products. The Company produced toys based upon the television program under a license from the joint venture which also licensed certain other merchandising rights to third parties. The joint venture completed and delivered 65 episodes of the show, which began airing in February 2012, and has since ceased production of the television show. For the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, the Company recognized income from the joint venture of $22,000 and nil, respectively.
 
As of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, the balance of the investment in the Pacific Animation Partners joint venture is nil.
In September 2012, the Company entered into a joint venture (“DreamPlay Toys”) with NantWorks LLC (“NantWorks”) in which it owns a fifty percent interest. Pursuant to the operating agreement of DreamPlay Toys, the Company paid to NantWorks cash in the amount of $8.0 million and issued NantWorks a warrant to purchase 1.5 million shares of the Company’s common stock at a value of $7.0 million in exchange for the exclusive right to arrange for the provision of the NantWorks recognition technology platform for toy products. The Company had classified these rights as an intangible asset, which was being amortized over the anticipated revenue stream from the exploitation of these rights. However, the Company has abandoned the use of the technology in connection with its toy products and no future sales are anticipated, and the Company recorded an impairment charge to income of $2.9 million to write off the remaining unamortized technology rights during the third quarter of 2017. The Company retains the financial risk of the joint venture and is responsible for the day-to-day operations, which are expected to be nominal in future periods. The results of operations of the joint venture are consolidated with the Company’s results.
 
In addition, in 2012, the Company invested $7.0 million in cash in exchange for a five percent economic interest in a related entity, DreamPlay, LLC, that was expected to monetize the exploitation of the recognition technologies in non-toy consumer product categories. Adoption of the technology has been inadequate to establish a commercially viable market for the technology. NantWorks has the right to repurchase the Company’s interest for $7.0 million, but the Company does not anticipate that NantWorks will do so. As of September 30, 2017, the Company determined the value of this investment will not be realized and that full impairment of the value had occurred. Accordingly, the Company recorded an impairment charge of $7.0 million during the quarter ended September 30, 2017.
 
In November 2014, the Company entered into a joint venture with Meisheng Culture & Creative Corp., for the purpose of providing certain JAKKS licensed and non-licensed toys and consumer products to agreed-upon territories of the People’s Republic of China. The joint venture includes a subsidiary in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone that sells, distributes and markets these products, which include dolls, plush, role play products, action figures, costumes, seasonal items, technology and app-enhanced toys, based on entertainment licenses and JAKKS’ own proprietary brands. The Company owns fifty-one percent of the joint venture and consolidates the joint venture since control rests with the Company. The non-controlling interest’s share of the income from the joint venture for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 was income of $51,000 and $31,000, respectively.

In October 2016, the Company entered into a joint venture with Hong Kong Meisheng Cultural Company Limited, a Hong Kong-based subsidiary of Meisheng (“HK Meisheng”), for the purpose of creating and developing original, multiplatform content for children including new short-form series and original shows. JAKKS and HK Meisheng each own fifty percent of the joint venture and will jointly own the content. JAKKS will retain merchandising rights for kids’ consumer products in all markets except China, which Meisheng will oversee through the Company’s existing distribution joint venture. The non-controlling interest’s share of the loss from the joint venture for three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 was nil. As of April 27, 2017, Hong Kong Meisheng Cultural Company Limited beneficially owns more than 10% of the Company’s outstanding common stock.