HORIZONT.NET - With the takeover of The Meet Group by Parship, ProSiebenSat1 (P7S1) became one of the top online dating companies. In this interview, Marc Schachtel, Co-CEO of the Parship Meet Group, gives insights into growth plans and the relationship with P7S1.
Q: Mr. Schachtel, you have been leading the Parship Meet Group since July 2021 together with The Meet Group founder Geoff Cook. How does the cooperation work?
A: We complement each other. We have a clear division of tasks that works very well: Geoff takes care of the video-focused apps - MeetMe, Skout, Tagged and Growlr. I am responsible for Parship, Elite Partner, eharmony and Lovoo.
Q: You are currently preparing for an IPO. Apart from that, what have you achieved in the past six months?
A: We managed to successfully lead the company through the pandemic.
Q: What are you doing better than the Match Group?
A: There is a space for many players. Today there are ~800M singles in the world; by 2025 there will be nearly a billion. It is crucial how we influence the market. I see it as our task to bring the quality back into the business and to keep dating safe and healthy. The pandemic has changed everything. We rolled out a video date function on our Parship, Elite Partner and eharmony platforms right at the beginning of the pandemic.
Q: Will avatars meet on your platforms at some point?
A: I was asked about the possibilities of virtual reality when I came to Parship in 2011. I assume that the topic of dating will shift to a certain extent into the virtual world, but in the end relationships are something deeply interpersonal, where chemistry and physicality play a big role. At the same time, we see ourselves as players in the Metaverse with our video products. We always describe our video brands as a bar to go to to be entertained and have fun while looking for a partner. Our B2B product Video Platform as a Service enables our partners to quickly integrate live streaming technology into their platforms and monetize it. vPaaS is now used in ~15 apps, most of them outside of our company.
Q: How does the cooperation with Pro Sieben Sat 1 work?
A: It is a success story that has grown gradually over a decade. With our video business, we are now also part of the entertainment industry. I'm a very big fan of the content work that has been done at P7S1 lately. Our new dating show "Love at First Kick" will certainly not be the last one.
by Katrin Ansorge
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