TIMES ONLINE UK – Feb 14 – Facing a stagnant US online dating market, the top US dating sites are focusing more efforts in the UK. Comscore has reported a 1% drop in the global dating market, but the UK is showing a strong 16% growth. Match.com and eHarmony.com, each with a reported 20 million members, dominate the estimated £1 billion a year matchmaking business in the paid site space. PlentyofFish.com holds the crown for the free dating space, attracting 933,000 visitors in Britain last month alone. Kate Bilenki at Plentyoffish said the site appeared to be picking up business that would otherwise have gone to the paid sites. “If you are on Match then you may find that the same people are also on eHarmony. So a lot of people are signing up with us as well because we are free,” she said. eHarmony added 130,000 new UK members in January, bringing their subscriber base to 800,000. Match.com has long been established in the UK and boasts roughly 6.5 million members. FULL ARTICLE @ TIMES ONLINE
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As chairman of Dateline Platinum (http://www.datelineplatinum.com), one of the UK’s longest running dating services, I agree that the UK market is enjoying excellent growth. People are busier than ever before and modern lifestyles can make meeting not just a partner, but the right partner, a real challenge. As a result, more people, and a more diverse range of people than ever before are exploring dating services. However, I do think that it is important to stress that our service has seen an equal increase in members’ expectations of dating services. With so many potential partners online, single people are very sensibly demanding greater security and a reassurance that the matches they are introduced to are likely to share their interests and lifestyle choices. Dateline Platinum provides this through meeting with new members in their own homes to complete a background check, as well as offering very hands on advice to our members as they meet new people and begin to date. I’d be interested to see how dating services entering or expanding operations in the UK market aim to achieve this quality, as well as quantity.
As chairman of Dateline Platinum (http://www.datelineplatinum.com), one of the UK’s longest running dating services, I agree that the UK market is enjoying excellent growth. People are busier than ever before and modern lifestyles can make meeting not just a partner, but the right partner, a real challenge. As a result, more people, and a more diverse range of people than ever before are exploring dating services. However, I do think that it is important to stress that our service has seen an equal increase in members’ expectations of dating services. With so many potential partners online, single people are very sensibly demanding greater security and a reassurance that the matches they are introduced to are likely to share their interests and lifestyle choices. Dateline Platinum provides this through meeting with new members in their own homes to complete a background check, as well as offering very hands on advice to our members as they meet new people and begin to date. I’d be interested to see how dating services entering or expanding operations in the UK market aim to achieve this quality, as well as quantity.