Category: JDate

Spark Networks Financial Results: SilverSingles Launch, More M&A Expected

Posted on April 26, 2018

Spark networks logo dec 17SEEKING ALPHA – Apr 25 – Spark Networks full year revenue increased 16.5% to €85.6M due to the 20% growth in paying subscribers as well as marketing efforts in North America and the Affinitas-Spark merger in Nov 2017. For the full year 2017 adjusted EBITDA was €6.6M, a YOY increase from €5.9M. It includes €509K of post merger adjusted EBITDA from Spark. The company ended the year with ~465K paying subscribers. (158K in North America and 307K international). Here a few key points from Spark Networks earning call:

  • Spark Networks is expecting future M&A to accelerate growth
  • EliteSingles is the largest and fastest growing brand (20% growth in 2017); ~60% of Spark Networks revenue comes from EliteSingles.
  • Elite Singles is expanding in North America
  • Jdate and Christian Mingle stable and expected to grow in 2018, marketing focus in North America for now, although new languages were introduced in April
  • The company launched a new matchmaking site SilverSingles in Dec 2017 in US, Canada, UK, France, Germany and Australia. The site targets serious daters who are 50+. 15% of Spark registrations coming already from this brand.

See full article at Seeking Alpha

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Jdate And ChristianMingle To Expand Globally

Posted on April 24, 2018

Jdate christianmingle logos 2018SPARK.NET – Apr 24 – Jdate and Christian Mingle have both expanded services, languages, and local market support throughout Europe. Originally available in English, Hebrew and French, Jdate is now also available in German and Spanish. Christian Mingle is now available in French, German and Spanish, in addition to English. Both Jdate and Christian Mingle will be rolling out Russian and Polish language and local support in the coming months.

See full article at Spark.net

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JDate Celebrates 20 Years

Posted on February 21, 2018

Jdate logo nov 15CHEDDAR – Feb 16 – David Yarus is the Global Ambassador for Jdate. He talks about how the Jewish dating site continues to innovate and help Jewish singles find love. Watch the interview here. Jdate is currently celebrating their 20th anniversary with the "20 Years of Love" campaign. The dating site wants to highlight 20 years of matchmaking by collecting the stories of successful Jdate couples.

See full article at Cheddar

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At 90, A Local ‘Yenta’ The New Face Of JDate

Posted on January 26, 2018

Jdate postersNJ JEWISH NEWS – Jan 24 – At 90, Bea Slater has her image plastered on billboards up and down Manhattan and in Brooklyn. Along with three other women of almost equal seniority, she has become the face of JDate, the Jewish matchmaking site. JDate is promoting their images to suggest that it's "yentas" who are working out the algorithms for perfect pairing. Hence messages on billboards like, "Her dreidel game is filthy. But her code is clean." The photographs were taken by award-winning photographer Randal Ford, and the "yenta" concept came from creative director and standup comedian David Roth, who produced the campaign with Hogarth Worldwide.

by Elaine Durbach
See full article at NJ Jewish News

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Spark Networks To Merge With EliteSingles

Posted on May 3, 2017

Sparknetworks affinitas logosACCESSWIRE – May 2 – German dating company Affinitas, which operates premium online dating platforms EliteSingles, eDarling and Attractive World, is merging with Spark Networks. The newly formed company will be named Spark Networks SE and will be headquartered in Berlin, and maintain a significant U.S. presence with offices in New York City and Lehi, Utah. The combination will create a company with ~$115M of pro forma combined revenue over the twelve months. EliteSingles shareholders will own ~75% of Spark Networks SE and Spark shareholders will own 25%. Jeronimo Folgueira, CEO of EliteSingles, will serve as CEO and Robert O'Hare, Spark's CFO, will continue in that role with the combined company. Michael Schrezenmaier, Managing Director of EliteSingles, will become COO. The Board of Directors will be comprised of seven directors, including three to be selected by EliteSingles, one to be selected by Spark, and three to be mutually agreed upon by EliteSingles and Spark.

See the full article at Internet Dating Newswire

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This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

The Matchmaker Who Flirts On Dating Apps For Her Clients

Posted on April 10, 2017

Meredith goldenTHE CUT – Apr 7 – Meredith Golden is a psychotherapist-turned-dating-coach. She spends her days swiping and messaging on behalf of her single clients. When JDate launched, she got a reputation for being a savvy dating-profile writer. Since then, she has helped several friends find their matches online. She started charging for her services two years ago, when strangers began asking for her help. Golden works with no more than a dozen clients at a time. She is especially successful when she poses as a straight male client. A lot of guys on dating apps never sack up and ask for a first date; Golden makes her (client's) move right away. She is not doing anything untoward, she insists. All she does is swipe, message, and set up first meetings; clients show up to the dates and take the communication from there. Clients pay Golden $900 for the first month of her services, $700 for the second, and $500 for each month after.

by Allie Jones
See full article at NYMag.com

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Spark Networks Q4 2016 Results: Revenue Down 28%

Posted on March 22, 2017

Sparknetworks logo new Jan 13PRESS RELEASE – Mar 21 – Spark Networks Q4 revenue was $7.7M, a YOY decrease of 28%. Q4 2016 net loss was $3.7M. For the full year 2016, total revenue was $35M, a decrease of 27% compared to the year ago period. The YOY decrease was primarily driven by 10.3% and 13.4% decreases in average paying subscribers for the Jewish and Christian Networks segments, respectively. CEO Danny Rosenthal commented: "We expect 2017 will be a transformational year for Spark. Our priorities are clear: operating profitably, relaunching our technology platform and driving future growth through effective marketing investments. Importantly, we are on track to deliver our new technology platform and re-launch JDate in Q2 and Christian Mingle in Q3."

See the full press release

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For Online Dating Sites, A Bumpy Road To Love

Posted on December 26, 2016

Sparknetworks logo new Jan 13NY TIMES – Dec 24 – JDate was created in 1997; ChristianMingle was added in 2001. Spark Networks, the parent company, eventually grew to ~30 dating sites, but the crown jewel has always been JDate. Since 2011, Spark Networks has been led by a rotating array of chief executives — four over five years. According to Spark Networks' 2015 filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the number of paid subscribers to its Jewish networks declined to ~65k last year from 85k in 2012. Its total for all networks dropped by ~55k people, to under 204k. Some of the decline could reflect Spark's management turnover, but it is also indicative of the challenges facing the online dating industry. "It's never been cheaper to start a dating site and never been more expensive to grow one," said Mark Brooks, a consultant for the Internet dating industry who also runs Online Personals Watch. Part of the problem, he said, is that 70% of Internet dating in the US is now on mobile. "It used to be 10% of those who registered converted to paid," Mr. Brooks said. "Now it's more like 2 to 3%." Some also see a move toward ever more niche sites like MouseMingle.com (Disney lovers) and GlutenFreeSingles.com. Spark Networks already offers niche products, but Lisa McLafferty, Spark's new chief revenue officer, says its aim is now to "refresh the brand."

by Alina Tugend
See full article at NY Times

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Spark Networks Q3 Financial Results – Revenue Down 28%, Loss Decreased

Posted on November 15, 2016

Sparknetworks logo new Jan 13MARKETWIRED – Nov 10 – Q3 revenue was $8.4M, a 28% decrease YOY, driven by decreases in both average paying subscribers and average revenue per user. Total direct marketing expenses decreased 72% to $1.2M. Q3 net loss was $94k, a $728k improvement versus the year ago period. CEO Danny Rosenthal stated: "We have made the decision to focus on improving JDate and Christian Mingle. Accordingly, we have paused work on initiatives that do not support this objective which includes the Church Partnership Program, the CrossPaths mobile application, and the expansion of Christian Mingle into Latin America.

See full article at Spark Networks website

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JDate Closes Its Israel Office

Posted on June 8, 2016

Jdate logo nov 15HAARETZ – June 8 – The Israeli JDate website will continue to be maintained from the U.S. including Hebrew-language content, and CEO Shai Trotzman will serve as the company's Israeli contact. The company will outsource its customer support to Israeli customers to a local supplier. This is part of a broader series of cuts around the world that includes the closure of a U.S. office in Utah. Spark Networks' revenues are said to have declined from $13.5M in Q1 2015 to $9.9M in Q1 2016. Its Jewish sites accounted for about $4M of the $9.9M, a decline of 22%.

See full article at Haaretz

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Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team