PR NEWSWIRE - Q3 '22 revenue was $48.2M, compared to $53.3M in Q3 '21. Net loss was $10.7M, including an $11.8M non-cash impairment charge to the Zoosk trade name, compared to a net loss of $2.7M in Q3 '21. Zoosk initial subscriber registration grew 5.1% YOY. Zoosk's average paying subscribers grew 3.4% YOY. The app has deployed new pricing, leading to increased conversion rates and a higher average price for Zoosk subscriptions YOY.
196 posts categorized "Zoosk"
Spark Networks' Q3 Results With Continued Subscriber Growth for Zoosk and Focus on Profitability
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Spark Networks Reports Q2 Results, Continued Subscriber Growth for Zoosk
PR NEWSWIRE - Q2 Revenue was $48M, compared to $55.3M in Q2 2021. On a constant currency basis, revenue would have been $50.3M. Net loss was $8.8M, compared to $49M in Q2 2021. Total paid subscribers grew from 831K to 838K. Zoosk end of period subscribers grew 4% YOY. Zoosk new subscribers grew 17% YOY. The company expects to deliver low double-digit Adjusted EBITDA margins for the full year.
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Zoosk User Waived Right to Class Action in Data Breach Lawsuit
BLOOMBERG LAW - Zoosk customers lost their bid for class certification in their data breach suit when a federal judge in San Francisco found that the lead plaintiff agreed to terms of use that waived her right to represent a class. Juan Flores-Mendez and Tracy Greenamyer sued Zooks following a massive breach in January 2020 in which a group called the "ShinyHunters" stole data from 30M Zoosk users. Zoosk waited 22 days to notify its users of the breach, according to the complaint.
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Improvements in User Experience Ignite Significant Growth in Female Engagement on Zoosk
PR NEWSWIRE - Spark Networks announced that female engagement is growing on Zoosk, Spark's largest dating app. Female engagement continues to be a leading indicator of a healthier and more productive dating platform. An updated matching algorithm and a revamped first-time user experience have driven double-digit growth in female paid subscribers, female subscriber conversions, and positive response rates to matches. Additionally, there has been a 10% increase in daily active users who are female and a sizable uptick in female first-day retention.
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Background Checks on Dating Apps
EYEWITNESS NEWS - One study found 81% of online daters misrepresented some aspect about themselves, be it height, weight, or age. The Federal Trade Commission says phishing and dating scams on apps cost victims $304M in 2020, double the amount of the previous year. Top10.com researched the background check and user verification processes for the most popular dating apps and websites.
Match Group
The company announced in March 2021 a partnership with nonprofit background check technology Garbo. The app provides historical information about domestic violence and abuse.
Badoo
The app makes sure the person is legitimate by having users take an image in a unique pose to verify. Badoo also allows users to further verify using a phone number or social network account and marks verification on their profile.
Bumble
Bumble uses a combination of AI and human-led monitoring systems to review accounts and messages for violations of their terms of service. These include imagery or language that discriminates against someone's race, ethnicity, disability, gender expression, and a range of other criteria.
AdultFriendFinder
AdultFriendFinder doesn't do background checks. While users are to accept sole responsibility for their own interactions with other users, users have recourse to report account abuse, and moderators are also looking out for abnormal behavior on the site.
Ashley Madison
User verification and background checks are counterintuitive to the goal of Ashley Madison.
Happn
Similar to Badoo, Happn users have the opportunity to certify their profiles by taking a video posing with unique head gestures, as instructed by the app. While Happn claims noncertified profiles are not fake, they do not provide any additional background on whether a vetting process exists for noncertified profiles.
Zoosk
Zoosk provides online dating safety tips for people new to dating online. Although, in those tips, it's suggested that users do their own research on potential suitors because Zoosk asserts it does not "routinely screen our members, inquire into the background of our members, attempt to verify information provided by our members, or conduct criminal screenings of our members."
Eharmony
While the dating service does not conduct an official background check, it does provide users with an 80-question survey to narrow in on the specificity of the website's services.
Grindr
Grindr notes in its terms of service that it does not conduct criminal or other background screenings of its users and doesn't verify the information users provide.
by Vivian Muniz
See full article at PA Homepage
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Zoosk Launches Great Dates, a Virtual Dating Feature
PR NEWSWIRE - Inspired by the post-pandemic shift toward video dating, Zoosk is launching a virtual dating feature, called Zoosk Great Dates. Zoosk Great Dates lets singles and their dates access fun virtual dates in exciting global destinations, with the first batch of interactive dates set in Greece, Italy and Japan.
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Spark Networks Q3 Results
PR NEWSWIRE - Q3 revenue was $53.3M, compared to $60.8M in the Q3 of 2020. Net Loss was $2.7M, compared to $0.1M last year's Q3. Four of Spark's top five brands, representing ~50% of total revenue, collectively grew revenue and subscribers YOY during the quarter, their fifth consecutive quarter of growth. Zoosk Live! users doubled since its Q2 launch. Spark expects to launch Zoosk Great Dates in Q4 to drive increased user engagement and subscribers. Spark reiterates full year 2021 revenue guidance of $219M to $223M. The company's portfolio include Zoosk, EliteSingles, SilverSingles, Christian Mingle, Jdate, and JSwipe, among others.
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Zoosk Monetizes Emails With Advertising
MEDIA POST - Aug 26 - Zoosk, a global dating app for a slightly older demographic, generates 4 to 5M email opens per day messages informing users that they got a message, sharing the daily match and performing other tasks. It had been monetizing these emails with advertising, working with LiveIntent and using its LiveTags technology. Ads now contribute ~2% of all revenue, with email contributing a smaller amount. Overall, Zoosk has had ~20M people registered over the years, several hundred thousand of whom may log in on a given day.
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Spark Networks' Q2 Results
PR NEWSWIRE - Aug 17 - Spark recorded Q2 revenue of $55.3M, down $1.2M from Q2 '20, ARPU increased to $20.96. The decrease in Revenue was attributable to the 3% decrease in the number of average paying subscribers. Net Loss was $50.4M. "During the Q2 2021, we entered the social discovery space with the launch of our livestreaming service, Zoosk Live!", said Eric Eichmann, CEO of Spark Networks. Spark currently expects full year 2021 revenue to be in the range of $219M to $223M and its full year 2021 Adjusted EBITDA range to be between $27M to $30M.
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Spark Trading at Extreme Discount Relative to Competitors
GURU FOCUS - Aug 13 - Transformation progress makes the stock a risky buy. The market is ignoring Spark's potential. The company ~1m monthly paying subs. Properties are: Zoosk, EliteSingles, SilverSingles, Christian Mingle, Jdate and JSwipe. Spark's efforts to turn itself around include a new C-level management team and R&D spending of $54mover the last 2 years for crucial product enhancements. Investments and changes will be realized in 2H 2021: live streaming video (launching Q3), social discovery functionality, improved matching algorithms, portfolio rebranded/look. Financial results were slightly down in Q4. YOY Q4 revenue decreased by $1.3 million to $56.4m because of a 3% decrease in average paying subscribers on Zoosk. The three largest legacy brands, SilverSingles, EliteSingles and Christian Mingle, grew at low double-digits in North America. Q1 2021 adjusted Ebitda was $4.8m, a decrease of $2.7m compared to $7.5m in Q1 2020, due to Zoosk and coupled with a headcount increase. Paying subscribers decreased 3% to 896,344 in Q1 2021. Monthly ARPU increased to $20.97 in Q1 2021. Spark's valuation ratios are ~90% lower than peers.
See full article at Guru Focus
Mark Brooks: Zoosk was a big pill for Spark to swallow. I trust the very considerable (former long term CEO of Criteo) Spark CEO, Eric Eichmann, and pragmatic MD/COO, Gitte Bendzulla to pull off this transformation.
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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 the top news on Zoosk
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Zoosk Launches Zoosk Live!
PR NEWSWIRE - July 1 - Zoosk, a flagship brand of Spark Networks, is rolling out livestreaming video community Zoosk Live! to its core markets. The livestreaming service, which is being offered via a partnership with ParshipMeet Group, is currently available for free to all Zoosk iOS and Android app users in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. Members can stream, interact with, and create Zoosk Live! content using their existing Zoosk accounts.
See full article at PR Newswire
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Does Banning People With Felonies From Dating Apps Make Anyone Safer?
THE MARSHALL PROJECT - May 20 - Match Group plans to launch a feature allowing daters to run background checks on potential matches. The company says its efforts are aimed at keeping users safe. But civil rights advocates say the record checks extend an unfair practice of imposing "collateral consequences" long after people have finished their sentences. "Meeting strangers can be risky, and I worry that this approach will mislead people into thinking they're safe," said Sarah Lageson, a Rutgers University sociologist who studies the growing use of online criminal records. People with felonies - anything from a $10 drug conviction to capital murder - are banned for life from some dating apps including Match Group's apps, Coffee Meets Bagel, Zoosk. A representative for The Meet Group said that only two of the company's apps - Skout and GROWLr - have a ban, based on policies it inherited when it acquired those apps. The representative said The Meet Group would reconsider that part of the policy.
by Keri Blakinger
See full article at The Marshall Project
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Spark Networks Reports Second Half and Full Year 2020 Financial Results
SPARK NETWORKS - Apr 1 - Revenue for the second half of 2020 was $118.9M, an increase of $3.9M compared to $115M in the second half of 2019. Revenue for 2020 was $233M, an increase of $62.1M compared to $170.9M in 2019. For the full year in 2020, the significant increase in revenue is primarily attributable to the integration of Zoosk following the Spark Networks / Zoosk Merger in July 2019. Net Loss was $45.9M in the second half of 2020, an increase of $16.9M compared to Net Loss of $29M in the second half of 2019. Net Loss for 2020 was $46.6M, an increase of $11.7M compared to $34.9M in 2019, as adjusted.
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Spark Networks Partners With ParshipMeet Group to Deliver Livestreaming Video to Users
PR NEWSWIRE - Mar 31 - Spark Networks will deliver livestreaming video to its largest brand, Zoosk, via an agreement with ParshipMeet Group, a leading provider of interactive dating solutions. Spark will leverage 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. Geoff Cook, CEO The Meet Group and GM Video ParshipMeet Group said "Nearly 250,000 dating games now take place across our Live communities every day allowing members to connect, safely meet, and fall in love."
See full article at PR Newswire
See the top news on Zoosk
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