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

ProSiebenSat.1 Q3 Financial Results

PROSIEBENSAT1 - The Q3 2023 results presentation by ProSiebenSat.1 outlines various operational updates, financials, and outlooks for the company. Key highlights included:

• The Group's Q3 revenue decreased 3% YOY to EUR 888M.
• Adjusted net income declined by 41% in Q3 YOY. The decline in the Group's Q3 revenue is attributed to several factors such as challenging macroeconomic environment and decrease in advertising revenue.
• In Q3 2023, the Dating & Video segment experienced a decline in both revenues and adjusted EBITDA. The Dating revenue was Eur 62M, down 12% YOY. As of Mar 2022, subscription businesses of Parship and ElitePartner had been affected by fair consumer contract regulations in Germany, negatively impacting the dating revenues since Q3 2022, with major effect from Q2 2023 onwards.

See full article at ProsiebenSat1 website

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ProSiebenSat.1 Group Faces Revenue Decline in Dating & Video Segment Amid Regulatory and Competitive Challenges in 2023

PRESS RELEASE - ProSiebenSat1, the parent company of ParshipMeet Group, has released Q2 2023 financial results. The Dating & Video segment witnessed a decline in revenues to EUR 107M in Q2 2023, a drop of 18% from EUR 130M in the previous year, largely influenced by stricter consumer contract regulations in Germany, which particularly affected subscription models of Parship and ElitePartner. Adjusted EBITDA decreased 30% in Q2 and by 18% in H12023.

See full article at ProSiebenSat1 website

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ProSiebenSat.1 Met 2022 Expectations and Expects Slight Revenue Growth in 2023

OPW - ProSiebenSat.1 reported that its financial year 2022 was in line with expectations, generating revenues of EUR 4.2B (compared to the previous year's EUR 4.5B), with adjusted EBITDA of EUR 678M (compared to the previous year's EUR 841M) and adjusted net income of EUR 301M (compared to the previous year's EUR 365M). In the Dating & Video segment, external revenues amounted to EUR 518M in 2022, representing a decrease of EUR 24M or 4% (previous year: EUR 542M). eharmony continued its growth course throughout the year and is now the highest-revenue brand in the dating portfolio.

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ProSiebenSat.1 to Cut Jobs, Seeks Buyer for Dating Business

REUTERS - ProSiebenSat.1, a German media group, is planning to reduce costs and cut jobs while focusing on its in-house streaming platform Joyn. The company's CEO, Bert Habets, also announced plans to divest its online dating service, ParshipMeet Group, once it finds a suitable buyer. Habets did not rule out an initial public offering but said it was unrealistic in the current market climate.

by Klaus Lauer
See full article at Reuters

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ParshipMeet Group Implements New Leadership Structure

PARSHIPTMEET GROUP - ParshipMeet Group, a leading international provider in dating and video, has announced a reorganization of its businesses, focusing on a more integrated approach. The new structure will be led by a new CEO, Marc Schachtel, and CFO and COO, Henning Rönneberg. Geoff Cook, co-CEO of The Meet Group, has left the company on mutual terms to pursue new entrepreneurial ventures. As COO Video, Jim Bugden will continue to operationally oversee ParshipMeet Group's Video activities. Jim Bugden has been with the company for twelve years, most recently helping expand Livebox's third-party customer portfolio. The Livebox solution allows streamers to quickly and easily connect with their audiences and monetize their livestreams. The reorganization aims to set the company up for future growth, with its dating apps and live-streaming solution expected to contribute to ParshipMeet Group's future expansion. ParshipMeet Group will also streamline its organizational setup and implement cost efficiencies.

See full article at ParshipMeet Group website

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Geoff Cook Takes a Bow, Leaves The Meet Group

OPW - After an 18-year journey, Geoff Cook is bowing out of the CEO role of The Meet Group. 

MeetMe grew from nothing to millions of active users. Tagged was acquired and turned into a livestreaming video success. Livebox, is a successful Creator Economy service powering top social apps. Tagged, LOVOO, Skout, and GROWLr were acquired. Parship Group and The Meet Group merged 2.5 years ago as ParshipMeet Group, and emerged as a dating and video leader. 

See Geoff's post on Linkedin here

Mark Brooks: Our hats off to Geoff, a luminary in the dating industry, for his foresight, innovation, and leadership.

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ParshipMeet Group Partners With WELCOMING OUT gUG

MARC SCHACHTEL (LINKEDIN) - I'm incredibly #proud that we at ParshipMeet Group have just kicked off our partnership with WELCOMING OUT gUG. Based in our hometown #Hamburg, #WelcomingOut is advocating #LGBTIQ+ rights in a very smart and effective way. The organization's Patrons: companies, associations, and councils, commit to fostering a climate that makes it easier for members of the LGBTIQ+ community to have their coming out – a step which for many people is still more complicated than one might think. #ParshipMeetGroup has a special responsibility in this area. The right to love is universal. Our collaboration is designed as a meaningful relationship where both parties grow together. Together, we want even more people to feel 100% comfortable about who they love!

See full post on LinkedIn

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Mark Brooks: Love comes in all kinds. Our role is to promote it universally and comprehensively. Especially in understanding and supporting the more nuanced challenges our constituents face.

ProSieben Holding off on Dating Division IPO for Time Being

REUTERS - German broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 Media is holding off on plans to list its dating division for the time being due to the current market environment and war in Ukraine. "We are totally prepared and I'm not ruling out anything for this year" when it comes to listing ParshipMeet Group, said CEO Rainer Beaujean. An IPO of ParshipMeet Group had been planned for the first half of 2022 and was intended as a way for U.S. co-owner General Atlantic to sell initial shares or step out entirely.

See full article at Reuters

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Q&A With Marc Schachtel, co-CEO of Parship Meet Group

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
See full article at Horizon.net

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ParshipMeet Group Is Preparing for IPO

HANDELSBLATT - The IPO could take place in the Q2 of 2022 and the subsidiary of the German television group Pro Sieben Sat 1 could be valued at 4B - 5B euros. The company has selected Morgan Stanley and BNP Paribas as lead advisory banks for the planned listing in Frankfurt. Pro Sieben Sat 1 Media holds 53% of ParshipMeet and wants to stay invested. On the other hand, the investment company General Atlantic, which holds a 43% stake, wants to get out.

by Arno Schütze
See full article at Handelsblatt

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ParshipMeet Group Adds Hornet as New Livestreaming Partner

BUSINESSWIRE - ParshipMeet Group, a leading provider of interactive dating solutions, has enabled the launch of livestreaming video on Hornet through its vPaaS (video Platform as a Service) solution. Hornet, known as the world's queer social network, has ~35M members.

See full article at Businesswire

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Investors See Big Potential in Smaller Online Dating Companies

WALL STREET JOURNAL - Since Jan '19, App Annie data show U.S. users have spent 7.4M hours on dating apps a month on Android phones alone. Match Group and Bumble collectively boast ~$50B in fully diluted market value, but plenty of businesses are trying. Coffee Meets Bagel, which hits users with algorithmically curated matches every day at noon, has made ~130M matches since its launch in 2012. Hily, which works to make it easier to start conversations, has 22M users. Snack, which is focused on video-first dating, was the 10th most-downloaded dating app in the U.S. last month, according to App Annie. Some just need a larger platform to help them take off. Hinge, in which Match took a majority stake in 2018 before acquiring it in 2019, saw ~100K U.S. downloads in Jan '18. By Mar '21, it was closer to 600K. Berlin-based Spark Networks did $233M in revenue last year. And then there is eHarmony owner ParshipMeet, which is preparing for a 2022 IPO. In the Q2 it had €139M ($164.2M) in revenue.

by Laura Forman
See full article at Wall Street Journal

ParshipMeet Prepares for IPO in 2022

REUTERS - Sep 1 - Dating group ParshipMeet has started preparations for an IPO next year. ParshipMeet, which is 43% owned by buyout group General Atlantic and 53% by German broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 Media, has invited banks to pitch for roles in the listing. ProSieben CEO Rainer Beaujean has publicly set his sights on floating ParshipMeet in 2022. Its e-commerce business bought The Meet Group last year for $467M and renamed it ParshipMeet Group. ParshipMeet could be worth upward of 3.5B euros ($4.1B). ParshipMeet reported H1 revenues of 280M euros, up 19% on a pro-forma basis, while EBITDA climbed to 61M euros.

by Arno Schuetze & Douglas Busvine
See full article at Reuters

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New Co-CEOs at ParshipMeet Group

OPW - July 20 - After 7 years, Tim Schiffers, the incumbent CEO, is handing over the baton to Marc Schachtel and Geoff Cook. Marc Schachtel (formerly COO) and Geoff Cook (Founder/CEO, The Meet Group) are now co-CEOs of ParshipMeet Group. Henning Rönneberg is CFO.

Tim successfully completed the merger of Parship Group with The Meet Group and is moving on to new challenges outside the organization.

Marc will lead the entire matchmaking business as CEO of Parship Group: Parship, ElitePartner, eharmony, LOVOO. See Marc's Linkedin post.

Geoff will continue to be responsible for the Social Dating & Entertainment division: MeetMe, Skout, Tagged, GROWLr and the live video streaming solution vPaaS, which powers the video solution of some of the largest dating and social apps in the world. See Geoff's Linkedin post.

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Spark Networks Begins Monetization of Zoosk Live!

AITHORITY - July 10 - Spark Networks has begun to record revenue from Zoosk Live! a livestreaming service offered via a partnership with ParshipMeet Group. Zoosk Live! is the result of Spark leveraging ParshipMeet Group's Live video Platform as a Service (vPaaS) product, which powers some of the world's largest livestreaming video dating apps by monetizing user videos. The service offers a range of livestreaming options, including challenges, events, and interactive features like NextDate, a speed dating game.

See full article at AIThority

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