Online Personals Watch: News on the Online Dating Industry and Business

Bank: "Love Is in the Air" for ProSiebenSat.1

ADVANCED TELEVISION - Oct 13 - Investment bank Berenberg says that with the closing of the acquisition of The Meet Group, ProSiebenSat.1 now has an online dating business that has the potential to deliver broad-based revenue and profits growth. An IPO or a trade sale might be possible within the 2022 timeframe. The bank estimates the net present value of ProSiebenSat.1's stake in ParshipMeet Group to be worth €5.10/share.

See full article at Advanced Television

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Bumble Introduces Three New Filters in India

HINDUSTAN TIMES - Oct 13 - The three new filters include virtual, socially-distanced and socially-distanced with masks. The company says that the new badges will give the Bumble community the opportunity to skip the potentially awkward conversation about how they are comfortable dating post lockdown, and what kind of dates they would like to go on. Bumble also cited a recent study wherein it found out that 78% of its users would be perfectly happy to meet up in person.

See full article at Hindustan Times

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Despite Covid-19, JWed Surpasses 3,500 Married Members

JNS - Oct 13 - With over 3,500+ known marriages, JWed.com claims to be the most successful online Jewish dating for marriage service. 65% of all JWed marriages are woman initiated - where the first contact was made by a female member, reaching out to a male member.

See full article at JNS

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Raya - the Invite-Only Dating App

MARIE CLAIRE - Oct 13 - Raya is a private and exclusive dating app. It's been dubbed the dating app for rich and famous people, because users have reported coming across the profiles of models, actors and musicians in their mission for love. Not just anyone can join. There's an application process. The applications are reviewed by an anonymous global committee. There's a fee - a one-month membership is $7.99, three months is $23.99, and six months is $29.99.

See full article at Marie Claire

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Bumble Hires Two New C-level Executives

TECH CRUNCH - Oct 13 - Bumble is expanding its C-suite with two new hires: Anu Subramanian as Bumble's CFO, who hails from Univision, and Selby Drummond as chief brand officer, who is joining from Snap. Bumble can now claim it has equal male-to-female representation across its C-suite. According to reports, Bumble hit 100M users this summer and is preparing to IPO in 2021, possibly at a $6B-plus valuation.

by Sarah Perez
See full article at Tech Crunch

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Tinder Accused of Ignoring Reports of Rape

NEWS.COM.AU - Oct 13 - Australian women have claimed sexual predators and abusers are exploiting Tinder to find their victims, then using the app's design features to disappear without a trace. Match Group has also been accused of largely ignoring victims when they come for help, according to an ABC investigation. On Tinder, unmatching is supposed to give people a way to ghost on someone who is being annoying or making them uncomfortable, but US dating app industry consultant Steve Dean says unmatching meant "someone can simply escape their bad behaviour by blocking the person they just abused".

See full article at News.com.au

Watch the Four Corners Video:

Mark Brooks: There's some opportunities for the industry to improve.  One thing I'd like to see is that we standardize on fast-track police contact info.  i.e. everyone should set up [email protected] etc.

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Tinder Gets Embroiled in Protest Efforts in Thailand

MARKETING - Oct 12 - Tinder has been caught in the crossfire of the ongoing Thai protests, which calls for the reform of the monarchy. Thai netizens are taking to Twitter to show that they are banned from the dating app, claiming that this happened after they posted pro-democracy content. According to Tinder's community guidelines, it said "soliciting other users is prohibited on Tinder". If the purpose of the profile is to advertise an event or business, non-profit, political campaign, contest, or to conduct research, Tinder may delete the account.

by Grace Ong
See full article at Marketing

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In Pakistan, Shame Makes Online Dating a Challenge

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE - Oct 12 - Many women use anonymous online dating profiles out of fear of being harassed in a country where arranged marriages are the norm. Pakistanis who use dating apps regularly face harassment and judgmental relatives. In the self-proclaimed "Land of the Pure" - where sexual relations outside marriage, and homosexuality, are punishable with prison sentences - dating culture is unfamiliar. Authorities in September banned Tinder, Grindr and other popular apps for failing to "moderate" their content. "Banning these dating apps is a way to preserve our traditions," said a 50-year-old matchmaker based in Karachi who has been helping families find suitable partners for arranged marriages for over a decade.

See full article at SCMP

Joseph Phua of M17 - "Companies Shut Down When Founders Give up"

E27 - Oct 8 - Just out of a very long relationship, Joseph Phua wanted to create an online platform to meet new people. It was back in 2013. Paktor, the app he launched in 2013, is now the largest dating app in Southeast Asia. Paktor has raised ~$52M and acquired five companies, before being merged with Taiwan's M17 Media to form M17 Entertainment. In May this year, Kollective Ventures acquired Paktor Group from M17 Entertainment. Phua recently stepped down as the CEO of M17 Group to assume the role of Chairman. "We faced many challenges with regards to fundraising, finding a sustainable business model, expanding globally, overcoming cultural differences and learning about the different markets", he says. "We expanded into eleven markets but it was expensive. We realized it was a mistake. There were several situations wherein we ran out of money but we never thought of shutting down. A company itself is a shell; what gives life to it are the ideas and the beliefs behind it. You can always pivot. Over our seven years of existence, we have pivoted many times. We first laid-off employees in 2013 and then again in six months after we expanded into 11 markets. We had to let go of 70-80 people. Then we had to move from being a free service to a paid one. Three key things that I learned trying to get out of the difficult situation:

1. It is always going to be the darkest just before light.
2. Running a business is all about its people. You must know how to lead like a person.
3. Be grateful for everything you have. If you keep comparing and keep looking at what you don't have, then you will kill yourself.

by Sainul Abudheen K
See full article at E27

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Mobile App Usage up 25% in Q3

FOX BUSINESS - Oct 8 - Mobile app usage surged 25% in Q3 as people continue to work and find entertainment online during the coronavirus pandemic, according to App Annie. Google Play downloads increased 10% YOY to a total of 25B while iOS App Store downloads increased 20% to a total of 9B. The top most-downloaded apps were TikTok, Facebook, WhatsApp Messenger, Zoom, Google Meet, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, Snack Video, Telegram and Snapchat. Apps that received the most consumer spend include Tinder, TikTok and YouTube. Consumer app spending also reached record highs amid COVID-19. On the App Store, spending increased 20% YOY to $18B in the Q3, and spending on Google Play grew 35% YOY to $10B.

by Audrey Conklin
See full article at Fox Business

This post also appears on VerySocialNetwork.

The Meet Group Teams With ConnectSafely for Safety Education

BUSINESSWIRE - Oct 8 - ConnectSafely is a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating users about safety, privacy, and security. "Educating our members about how to date safely is core to our safety initiatives", said Geoff Cook, CEO of The Meet Group.

See full article at Businesswire

See the top news on The Meet Group 

More Singles Are Fast Tracking New Relationships

NEW YORK TIMES - Oct 8 - Americans are dating with an intention that some experts say that they haven't seen before. Many experts, along with daters themselves, say that daters have become more likely to couple up, to lower their standards and to do what they can to find a partner to face whatever comes next. Hinge's surveys indicate that 69% of the app's users are "thinking more about who they're really looking for" and 50% say they are "no longer chasing after people who aren't interested in them." A survey of 2K dating app users Match conducted between July and August, showed that 59% of daters were considering a wider range of people as potential partners and that 55% were fast tracking new relationships more than before the pandemic.

by Jonah Engel Bromwich & Sandra E. Garcia
See full article at New York Times

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Lockdown Loneliness Leads to 600 Reports of Online Dating Fraud a Month

SKY NEWS - Oct 9 - ~600 reports of romance scams per month were made to UK Action Fraud during June, July and August. Police forces and other organisations are running a campaign throughout October to raise awareness of romance fraud, following a 26% increase in reports to Action Fraud in the past year. The average victim loses ~ £10K. Losses reported by victims between August 2019 and August 2020 totalled £66M. The Match Group is running romance fraud protection ads throughout October on their platforms. City of London Police is also working with money transfer companies to help block transfers suspected of being linked to romance scams.

See full article at Sky News

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Tinder Launches Its Election Center and Voting Stickers

TINDER PRESSROOM - Oct 2 - Tinder is rolling out its Election Center, where members can access a suite of helpful voter turnout tools. Users can also add stickers to their profile, to further spread the word on the importance of voting this season.

See full article at Tinder Pressroom

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Online Dating Significantly Speeds up Relationships

INDEPENDENT.CO.UK - Oct 8 - Digital daters can tell if they have a connection with someone after just 30 seconds of a video call, a new poll by Virgin Media has shown. Virtual dates soared by 36% during lockdown – with six in 10 single people admitting they enjoy the "new dating normal". One in four will continue to keep up virtual dating even after lockdown fully ends, to screen out non-starters in the search for romance. The research also found that 55% of 1K daters surveyed felt their virtual relationships blossom much faster than they would in person.

by Richard Jenkins
See full article at Independent.co.uk