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Month: March 2020
What Dating Apps Get the Most Press Coverage?
OPW – Mar 21 – We took a look at who got the most press coverage (on OPW.news) in 2019. We run the news that we think is most strategically significant for dating executives to know about. Just the top news. So this is a straw poll analysis. Here's what we ran in 2019, and who came up tops.
- Tinder (158 posts in 2019)
No surprise here – Tinder won again. - Bumble (112 posts)
Bumble takes 2nd place again. It also took the 2nd place on the top grossing dating apps list last year. - Match Group (90 posts)
- The Meet Group (52 posts)
- Grindr (42 posts)
- Badoo (37 posts)
- Facebook Dating (36 posts)
- Match.com (33 posts)
- OkCupid (30 posts)
- Lumen (28 posts)
Dating.com Group Launches $50 Million Corporate VC Fund
PULSE 2.0 – Mar 20 – The fund will invest in companies and projects in the dating space. Dating.com Group has recently acquired India-based Dil Mil – which is known as the "Tinder for South Asians". Some of the company's other apps include Dating.com, AnastasiaDate.com, Tubit, DateMyAge, AsianDate.com, and AfricanDate.com. The first investment was in S'More – which is a dating app encourages users to learn more about a person before looking at profile photos.
by Amit Chowdhry
See full article at Pulse 2.0
See the top news on Dating.com Group
See the top news on Dil Mil
See the top news on S'More
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.com
Plenty of Fish Partners With The Meet Group for Free Livestreaming
PR NEWSWIRE – Mar 19 – Plenty of Fish today began rolling out a free livestreaming feature, dubbed LIVE!, for members to encourage singles to "date from a distance" as the nation practices social isolation. In partnership with The Meet Group, a leading provider of interactive livestreaming solutions, LIVE! enables Plenty of Fish app-users to livestream with friends and potential matches. Next week, LIVE! will roll out to 80% of the U.S. and will be made available to all global app-users by the end of April. Users can access livestreaming through the LIVE! Icon in the app.
Momo Announces Q4 and Fiscal Year 2019 Financial Results
PR NEWSWIRE – Mar 19 – Momo's Q4 net revenues increased by 22% YOY to RMB 4,688M ($673.4M). Q4 Net income attributable to Momo increased to RMB1,055.9M ($151.7M) from RMB660.8M in Q4 2018. Monthly Active Users on Momo app were 114.5M in December 2019, compared to 113.3M in December 2018. Total paying users of live video service and value-added service were 13.8M, compared to 13M in Q4 2018. Full Year 2019 Highlights: Net revenues increased 27% YOY to RMB17,015M ($2,444.1M) for the full year of 2019. Net income attributable to Momo was RMB2,970.9M ($426.7M) for the full year of 2019.
Grindr Has Increased the Number of Viewable Profiles for Free Because of COVID-19
THE TAB – Mar 19 – For a limited time, Grindr has made some premium features free. Acknowledging that many of their users will be working from home or self-isolating under new recommendations from the government to do so, Grindr has made the premium feature of being able to see up to 300 profiles in their area free.
How Is Coronavirus Affecting the Mobile Economy
APPANNIE – Mar 19 – The world is now turning to mobile to stay connected. AppAnnie took a look at Business, Education, Games, Social, Entertainment, Ride-Sharing, Food Delivery, Finance and Dating apps to unearth how coronavirus is impacting the way we conduct our lives each day. In China, city lockdowns began in January 2020. Consequently, in February, the daily time spent in mobile in China jumped to 5h per day, an increase of 30% compared to the average for 2019. Business and Education apps saw the biggest surge in downloads among categories of apps. We have seen a softening in active users among the top dating apps in the US in the weeks post-Valentine's Day, but it's important to note that we typically see a peak in usage surrounding Valentine's Day. Within dating apps, users can still be active by matching and messaging without actually meeting up in-person.
How COVID-19 Is Affecting Dating Apps for Singles
NEWSWEEK – Mar 18 – With more and more people practicing social distancing, it's unclear how exactly single people are supposed to date as concerns over COVID-19 become increasingly severe. These are the approaches that dating apps and services are taking. In a statement, Hinge wrote that users' safety was most important. On its website, it provided important tips from WHO, including social distancing, washing hands, avoiding face touching and staying up to date. Tinder is sharing a similar message with a new card that appears for swipers, adding that people should carry hand sanitizer and maintain distance during social events. The ethically-non-monogamous-focused dating app #Open is advising users in a message to not meet new partners in person and to instead make use of video and phone calls. Now is not the time to be making new connections," said #Open co-founder David Epstein.
by James Crowley
See full article at Newsweek
See the top news on Hinge
See the top news on Tinder
See the top news on #Open
Dating Apps Wingman and Ship Let Friends Take Over
ESQUIRE – Mar 18 – Tina Wilson is the founder of Wingman, a 3-year-old app that allows users to recruit friends and family to swipe on their behalf. Like many, she was irritated by the fake profiles and bad matches that come with online dating. "I kind of had that light bulb moment," says Wilson. "Wow, wouldn't it be fun if I could just let my friends do it for me? They have great insights. They're always going to toot my horn, and they love me, but they can also talk about my flaws and help me bypass some of the craziness that goes on." Ship is another friend-swiping app that launched last year. It is not surprising that both Wingman and Ship were founded by women; men, studies have found, often have a harder time than women building and maintaining friendships. In Britain, nearly 1 in 5 men says he has no friends at all. According to a spokesperson for Ship, women tend to have more friends swiping on their behalf than men do.
The Top Dating Industry News for March 17th
OPW – Mar 17 – IDEA Summit, The Meet Group Acquisition & Financial Results, Grindr Acquisition, OKCupid Covid-19 Survey, Tinder's Swipe Night on Hold.
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