Category: The Meet Group

The Meet Group Launches Face Verification

Posted on September 22, 2020

Meetme verified profileBUSINESSWIRE – Sep 21 – The Meet Group rolls out AI-powered face verification using FaceTec's 3D selfie technology, a human liveness check. Verification badges roll out to MeetMe member profiles this week, then Skout and Tagged within months. FaceTec's AI software confirms the user is physically present in front of the camera. As badge adoption increases, it will become a prerequisite for certain activities like sending photos in chat. Additionally, FaceTec's AI provides a 3D age estimation.

"At the beginning of this year, I set forth our commitment to safer dating in 2020, addressing key issues affecting dating apps everywhere: Authenticity, Age Estimation, Device Blocking, and Textual Screening," said Geoff Cook, CEO of The Meet Group. "With the launch of the Profile Verification Badge on MeetMe, we are…helping to ensure authenticity and end catfishing."

Other initiatives include using URSafe so members can stay connected in an emergency, collaborating with Microsoft on Project Artemis which uses common textual patterns and an age detection engine to prevent child exploitation, the introduction of a Safer Dating Advisory Board of epidemiologists and infectious disease experts to provide advice aimed at reducing the risk of contagion while dating, and implementing DeviceCheck to block bad actors' devices. See TMG's safety overview.

See full article at Businesswire

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This post also appears on VerySocialNetwork

The Meet Group: World’s Largest Virtual Speed Dating Event

Posted on September 18, 2020

Tmg pof speed date eventBUSINESSWIRE – Sep 16 – The Meet Group will host the world's largest virtual speed dating event, partnering with Plenty of Fish to each donate $10,000 for a total of $20,000 to Feeding America on Sun 20th Sep. Available to MeetMe, Skout and POF members. "The pandemic has forever changed the nature of dating, tilting it toward video," said Geoff Cook, CEO of The Meet Group. "With 1.2m broadcasters and 8.9m viewers per month, our livestreaming solutions are changing the nature of dating apps, adding an element of social entertainment while providing meaningful connection and an antidote to loneliness. We are thrilled to partner with Plenty of Fish to host the world's largest speed dating event."

In a recent survey of MeetMe daters, 76% of respondents said they feel they are better able to connect with people over video. The average participating member on The Meet Group's livestreaming platform spends 30 mins a day streaming or watching and 7.6m matches were made on NextDate since March. "As one of the first dating apps to bring livestreaming to our members, we've continued to see enthusiasm for distance dating," said POF CEO Malgosia Green.

See full article at Businesswire

5.5m+ Plenty of Fish members have used the livestreaming feature since launch and 250k+ POF members use the feature daily. 50% of livestreaming users are Gen-Z and millennials.

See full article at PR Newswire

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The Meet Group Acquired and Looking at 2022 IPO as ParshipMeet!

Posted on September 4, 2020

Parshipmeet group logoBUSINESSWIRE – Sep 4 – The Meet Group announced the completion of its acquisition by the parent company of eharmony. ParshipMeet Group was created to manage The Meet Group and Parship Group. It now operates MeetMe, LOVOO, Tagged, Skout, GROWLr, eharmony, Parship and ElitePartner.

The Meet Group focuses on community while bringing social entertainment to dating, monetizing through livestreaming video. Parship Group brands are market leaders in the matchmaking space; focused on serious relationships and monetizing through subscriptions.

The all-cash transaction represents an enterprise value of ~$500m.

"We are thrilled to combine with a globally leading matchmaking company," said Geoff Cook, CEO of The Meet Group. "We believe this deal will help define the future of dating. We will continue to focus on… building the best dating features in the world, …investing in livestreaming…, and discovering opportunities to expand and grow – organically and through strategic relationships, including our video-platform-as-a-service offering". 195k+ dating games are played each day across The Meet Group's apps, up 104% since March.

"The Meet Group's livestreaming video platform is unique and well positioned for a post-pandemic world where video becomes a critical part of finding and screening first dates," said Tim Schiffers, CEO of ParshipMeet Group. "By combining The Meet Group's assets with Parship Group's strengths, we've created a global dating leader and one of the most diversified portfolios of dating brands in the world. …We see significant potential to further the growth of The Meet Group's video platform-as-a-service products, as well opportunities for knowledge-sharing and cross-selling."

ParshipMeet Group is jointly owned by ProSiebenSat.1, a leading free-to-air TV broadcaster and video entertainment company in the German-speaking markets, and General Atlantic, a leading global growth equity firm providing capital and strategic support for growth companies.

See full article at Businesswire

Additionally, from ProSiebenSat1:
ParshipMeet Group has revenues of EUR 451 million and adjusted EBITDA of EUR 95 million as of H1 2020, for the last 12 months. Double-digit annual growth rates expected

The combined company operates as ParshipMeet Group, a newly-minted unicorn and a leading global player in the online dating market. ProSiebenSat.1 owns 53% and General Atlantic 43% in ParshipMeet Group. The remainder is held by management.

Rainer Beaujean, Chairman & CFO, ProSiebenSat.1 said, "This investment case is also another strong proof of concept of our ability to use the strengths of our Entertainment business to support the growth and development of consumer-facing digital platform and commerce businesses."

Joern Nikolay, MD, General Atlantic said, "We believe in the ability of ParshipMeet Group…to bring transformative digital innovation to the global online dating sector…and harness the power of technology."

Tim Schiffers, CEO, ParshipMeet Group said, "Online dating, and interactive live video in particular, is a global megatrend that will continue to transform all of our lives in the future. …Our brands span the whole spectrum of the online dating market: meeting, dating and falling in love. …We are perfectly positioned for sustained long-term growth."

ProSiebenSat.1 and General Atlantic are evaluating an IPO for ParshipMeet Group in 2022.

See full article at ProsiebenSat.1 website

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MeetMe’s Live Video Dating: Dating Online With an Audience

Posted on September 2, 2020

Meetme icon 2020BBC – Sep 2 – On dating app MeetMe, users broadcast live from their phones and then interact with people who tune in. This live vlogging format includes a series of live dating game shows. Livestreamers are paired up to see if there is any chemistry between them. Viewers comment on a "stream" underneath, in real time. MeetMe is part of a suite of dating apps run by The Meet Group. Others include Skout, Tagged (for African-American audience) and Lovoo (an app developed in Germany, which MeetMe bought). Between them they have ~15M users, and on average 180K dating games are played each day, with ~1M people watching the live dates unfold. CEO Geoff Cook describes the platforms as "a public version of speed dating". Plenty of Fish is also currently offering live dating experiences. Badoo has recently experimented with the idea as well. 

Watch the video.

by Dougal Shaw
See full article at BBC

Mark Brooks: Geoff Cook, CEO of The Meet Group, made a couple of impactful statements in the BBC video interview.  Geoff said, "I certainly believe daters no longer have the risk appetite for meeting many different people in person based on something as shallow as a right swipe." This risk, of course, is heightened right now because of covid.  However, there's always been additional risks when daters meet in-person for the first time. Especially the risk of disappointment when people have misrepresented themselves in their dating profile and photos. The best thing about video is, video doesn't lie, so when people meet in-person, they're less likely to be disappointed, or catfished. Geoff also stated "…Live-streaming video helps…by really emphasizing personalities" which I think is why this new video dating norm will be here to stay. It's so tough for dating apps to really help people get a sense of chemistry.  But with video, users can actually get their first sense of chemistry. That's huge! (Full Disclosure: The Meet Group are a client of Courtland Brooks)

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Dating App Stocks You Might Fall in Love With

Posted on August 19, 2020

Stock general imageCAPITAL WATCH – Aug 18 – High demand for dating apps is likely to continue even after the pademic. In the Q2, Tinder gained ~200K users, bringing its average subscribers to 6.2M. Also, direct revenue for Tinder jumped by 15%. In total, Match's revenue soared 12% YOY to $555.5M. Match is now projecting to generate Q3 revenues of ~$600M. Thanks to the strong earnings, the stock is now trading at an all-time high since it debuted on Nasdaq in November 2015. Another stock to watch is MEET (The Meet Group). In the Q2, Meet's revenues skyrocketed 74% YOY to $90.33M. Net income rose by nearly five-fold to $10.38M. On the international online dating stage, one company likely to continue seeing demand is Spark Networks SE. Based on preliminary financial results, Spark generated $114M in revenue, beating its previous expectations of $110 – $112M. Newly listed Chinese BlueCity might be worth some love. Its stock skyrocketed as high as 124% in its trading debut from its IPO pricing of $16 per share. The company's app Blued is the largest LGBTQ community in China, India, Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam.

by Anthony Russo
See full article at Capital Watch

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The Meet Group Q2 Financial Results – Revenue up 74% YOY

Posted on August 7, 2020

Themetgroup logoBUSINESSWIRE – Aug 6 – Total revenue was $90.3M, up 74% YOY. Net income was $10.4M, compared with net income of $2.2M in Q2 2019. "We expect to close our acquisition by ProSiebenSat.1 and General Atlantic by the end of this year," said Geoff Cook, CEO of The Meet Group. "We have received antitrust clearance in the US, Germany and Austria, and our stockholders have approved the transaction."

See full article at The Meet Group website

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81% of Daters Would Go on Offline Date, But Video Is Here to Stay

Posted on July 29, 2020

The meet group virtual dateTHE MEET GROUP – July 29 – At the start of the pandemic, video was a replacement for real-life interaction. Now, it is a filter to screen potential dates before meeting in person. This shift toward video will extend beyond the pandemic. Tinder has replaced its CEO with a media executive who led CBS's push into streaming video. The Meet Group has been building a livestreaming dating platform for over three years, and today, they are the largest provider of livestreaming dating games in the world. Meet Group's users play 185K dating games a day, up 95% since the declaration of a pandemic in March. The total time spent in video dating increased by 39% to 1.4M hours a day, with each person spending on average ~20 minutes a day. NextDate, the Meet Group's video dating feature, is like speed-dating but with an audience. People queue up to "date" a streamer who has two minutes to choose Next or Date while the audience can comment and rate the contestant. BlindDate adds a twist: it blurs the video image of the contestant, forcing the first impression to be based on personality rather than looks. According to July SurveyGizmo survey of 1500 US residents interested in dating, 81% of daters would be willing to go on an in-person date tomorrow if they met someone interesting on a dating app today. 25% said they had dated in person in the last 30 days.

by Geoff Cook
See full article at Medium

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The Meet Group Launches DateNight to MeetMe and Skout

Posted on July 29, 2020

The meet group date nightBUSINESS WIRE – July 28 – The Meet Group, a leading provider of interactive dating solutions, is launching DateNight interactive feature, which makes anyone the star of their own dating game. DateNight is a livestreaming dating game that offers rewards to anyone who plays. Daters who match during a DateNight event will receive a free $10 gift card to one of 18 different national chain restaurants, giving away up to $15K worth of first dates every day. DateNight events will occur on Thursdays from 9:00 – 11:00 p.m. EDT throughout July and August.

See full article at The Meet Group website

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Is Video Dating Here to Stay?

Posted on July 22, 2020

Video datingBBC – July 21 – Video dating surged during lockdowns, but how much will the trend stick around in the 'new normal'? A recent survey from Match showed that 69% of users in the US were open to video chatting, whereas just 6% had tried it before the pandemic. There was also a surge in interest in livestreaming dating games, with The Meet Group, a US market leader in the sector, reporting a 95% surge in usage of its products since March. These include video speed-dating events and blind-dating games for users who want to focus on personality rather than looks. Dr Helen Fisher, who works as an advisor to Match Group, says that lockdowns around the world followed a period in which many millennials were already experiencing swiping fatigue. Dating app growth slowed globally in 2019, and Fisher's own research before the pandemic suggested a growing appetite for closer emotional connections developed over a longer period, instead of casual hook-ups. With countries now easing lockdowns, most dating experts think people will quickly return to developing romantic relationships offline, rather than focusing on video-based dating. However, there is a consensus that the trend for video dating won't disappear completely, with many suggesting that video calls in the 'new normal' will form part of a screening process before a first real-life date.

by Maddy Savage
See full article at BBC

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IDEA Webinar – Dare to Date: Dating in a Time of Pandemic

Posted on July 14, 2020

Idea-weblogo-2xOPW – July 14 – Join us for an especially hot-topic IDEA webinar on Thursday 23rd July, at 11:30am EST.

The Meet Group has formed a Safer Dating Advisory Board, made up of health experts and epidemiologists. This webinar panel is made up of the board members and Geoff Cook, the CEO of The Meet Group.

The pandemic has changed the way people date. How can dating app leaders sensibly and responsibly advise Internet daters to behave now? Can they date? Should we advise them to date? How, exactly? What is the best advice we can pass on, that is scientifically sound? All super critical questions right now.

On this webinar, listen in as I ask some tough and timely questions. You get to benefit from the advisory of the Safer Dating Advisory Board, that The Meet Group has kindly brought together for us.

PANELISTS
~ Dr. Anirrudha Hazra, an internal medicine and infectious diseases physician certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine.
~ Dr. Tali Elfassy, an epidemiologist and Research Assistant Professor of Epidemiology in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
~ Dr. Melissa Sharp, an epidemiologist and postdoctoral fellow at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland with expertise in meta-research and observational mixed-methods research.
~ Geoff Cook, CEO of The Meet Group.

HOST
~ Mark Brooks, President IDEA.gp & CEO Courtland Brooks

Register here to join us for this 45 minute panel, plus 15 minutes Q&A.