PR NEWSWIRE – Revenue was $52.4M (-7%YOY), compared to $56.4M in Q1 2021. On a constant currency basis, revenue would have been $54.6M, down 3% YOY. Net Loss was $5.3M, compared to $6.5M in Q1 2021. Adjusted EBITDA was $3.5M, compared to $5.1M in Q1 2021. Zoosk's new subscribers grew 15% YOY, following the ramp-up in marketing spend. Spark expects full-year 2022 revenue to grow mid to high single-digits year over year.
Month: May 2022
Dating News Headlines: Spark Networks, Bumble
Quick links to today's dating news headlines.
- Strong Execution in First Quarter 2022 Leads Spark Networks to Reiterate Expected Revenue Growth for Full Year – Spark Networks website
- Bumble: With Audio Questions to Dating? – WMN (in German)
Muzmatch Is Now Muzz
OPW – Muzmatch has lost the legal battle with Match Group over the use of the word "match" in its name. Muzmatch is now Muzz, and the app has also added two new features – profile videos and voice intros.
Tinder Invites Dog Lovers to Enjoy First Date on May 14 and 15
Dating News Headlines: Tinder
Quick links to today's dating news headlines.
Why People Behave Badly on Dating Apps
BBC – Cheating, ghosting and swiping – online dating brings out the worst in many people. "The screen mediates our courage, so we will do and say things online that we would never do in real life," says Dr Joanne Orlando, an Australia-based researcher and author who focuses on digital wellness. Dana Weiser, an associate professor at Texas Tech University, began collecting data from 550 undergraduate students about infidelity on Tinder, which was published in a 2018 study. 64% reported seeing someone on Tinder whom they knew to be in an exclusive relationship, 17% of the study's participants themselves admitted to messaging someone on Tinder while in a relationship, and 7% said they'd had a sexual experience with someone they met on Tinder while dating someone else. A 2016 survey by Plenty of Fish showed 80% of respondents between 18 and 33 years old reported having at least one relationship end via ghosting. 35% of respondents to the 2020 Pew Research Center study reported someone had sent them an "explicit message or image they didn't ask for" on a dating app, and that number rose to 57% among female users aged 18 to 34.
Paul Larsen – Payment Processing Update for Dating & Social Communities
OPW – Paul has been focused on payment processing for online subscriptions for the last 30 years. He has run Paul Larsen Consulting since 2003 and advises dating and social and other subscription companies on payment processing strategy and tactics. Paul mentioned 8 points regarding the current subscription economy after its continued 10-year rise:
- Subscriptions are saturated, yet, subscriptions are expanding relentlessly.
- The Economy is soft.
- Involuntary churn is climbing rapidly.
- The networks have created havoc by redefining declines.
- The networks are cracking down on chargebacks.
- The networks have developed challenging recurring rules.
- Merchants will be penalized with higher fees for not using tokens.
- But there is a silver lining in each of these.
He brings a world of payment processing knowledge, and specific context experience and gives us the latest scoop on payment processing in our sometimes challenging field.
LTR stands for Love, Technology, Relationships and the online conference covers the Internet dating and Online Social Communities space. It is for members of IDEA and OSCA.
The April LTR was kindly sponsored by RealMe, vPaaS by Meet Group, FaceTec, OneRep, and Courtland Brooks
Match Group to Accelerate Hinge’s Launch in India
ECONOMIC TIMES – Organic traction for its dating app Hinge is exceptionally strong in quite a few untapped international markets and it has huge potential globally, the company said. "We've seen a recent surge in organic traction in India without any localization. So, we want to respond to these types of positive signals, and we are accelerating our launch in India," Shar Dubey, CEO of the Match Group. The app is on track to launch in its first non-English speaking market, Germany, in the Q2.
Playdate – UK’s First Dating App for Single Parents
CITYAM – Nevine Coutry, a London based entrepreneur, launched the UK's first dating app aimed exclusively at single parents. Playdate launched in April 2021. Coutry began her career in her home country of Egypt working as a marketing manager for a large development and tourism company. After moving to the UK in 2012 she established a successful marketing agency, Vcom Marketing. The company specialised mainly in tourism and events, so when the pandemic hit, Nevine lost all of her clients and business overnight and was left with nothing. "I then decided to start Playdate. I always had this idea of a dating app just for single parents but when business was good, I just didn't have the time to truly pursue the idea," she said. One year on, the app has ~20K users. "Next we plan to launch in Europe, the US, and the Middle East and make it to the top of the world’s best dating apps."
Q&A With BlueCity CRO Liang Zhao
PANDAILY – On April 25, BlueCity was named a winner in the World Health Organization's (WHO) first-ever Western Pacific Innovation Challenge: Innovation for the Future of Public Health. The firm won the accolade for its Internet+ HIV interventions on Blued, a world-leading online LGBTQ+ community platform connecting ~60M users.
Q: BlueCity was among the first to introduce the concept of Internet+ HIV prevention in China. Could you describe how this works?
Zhao: For HIV prevention to be effective, it must be convenient, discreet, and timely. Users can directly make appointments with ~200 testing centers in over 30 cities, and we are working to broaden this service outside of China.
Q: How do your PrEP and PEP services work?
Zhao: We provide access to HIV screening, pre-exposure prophylaxis ("PrEP"), and post-exposure prophylaxis ("PEP") solutions. Users can order such medications in major Chinese cities. We also offer express delivery of PEP medication.
Q: We know privacy and data security is a critical issue for internet companies. What does it mean for BlueCity and your LGBTQ users?
Zhao: Privacy is non-negotiable, and protecting user privacy is central to our mission. We prohibit users from taking a screenshot or recording a video while using the app. We have an anti-fraud team, and we carry out regular online safety campaigns to raise awareness.