NEW HOPE, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Meet Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: MEET), a leading provider of interactive livestreaming solutions, plans to release two new features to its NextDate dating game, Blind Date and Second Date, on its MeetMe and Skout livestreaming dating apps in the coming weeks. The announcement comes in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic which is forcing millions of people to practice social distancing and self-isolation. Through the release of Blind Date and Second Date, The Meet Group hopes to encourage its users to make connections, find love, and regain a sense of community, all while remaining socially distant. NextDate, a gamified version of speed dating, was introduced to The Meet Group’s portfolio of mobile apps in October 2019.
Blind Date allows NextDate users to meet and date streamers through a timed video chat. The streaming host can hear but not see the contestant, therefore making the date based on personality rather than looks. As the mini-date continues, the contestant’s video becomes increasingly less blurred and is revealed only when time runs out or if the host selects the “date” option.
Second Date gives a contestant the chance to have a number of subsequent dates with the streamer during the game, adding a new element to the NextDate experience. With Second Date, when the streamer chooses to “date” a contestant, the contestant is given the opportunity to play an unlimited number of times in the same game session unless the streamer decides to “next” them. Second Date allows contestants and streamers to be able to converse, connect, and potentially find love.
Because of the outbreak, The Meet Group is seeing users spend more time in video chats and livestreaming than ever before. Today over 100,000 NextDate games are played daily, and more than 1 million people either watch or livestream every day.
“Since the start of the pandemic, video chats have increased by 48%, and time spent in video increased by 47%,” said Geoff Cook, Chief Executive Officer of The Meet Group. “In response to the enacting and extension of social distancing measures across the country, we are accelerating the launch of video dating products across our portfolio of mobile dating apps in order to provide our users with new ways to connect during these uncertain times.”
Blind Date and Second Date are expected to be released to both MeetMe and Skout users in May.
About The Meet Group
The Meet Group (NASDAQ: MEET) is a leading provider of interactive dating solutions designed to meet the universal need for human connection. Our ecosystem of livestreaming apps enables users around the world to interact through one-to-many livestreaming broadcasts and text-based conversations. Our top apps, MeetMe®, LOVOO®, Skout®, Tagged® and Growlr®, deliver live interactions and meaningful connections to millions of users daily. Headquartered in New Hope, PA, we have offices in Philadelphia, San Francisco, Dresden, and Berlin. The Meet Group is committed to safety. You can find a description of current safety practices here: https://www.themeetgroup.com/safety-practices/. For more information, visit themeetgroup.com, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding whether we will release Blind Date and Second Date as anticipated; whether Blind Date and Second Date will cause users to make connections, find love, and regain a sense of community, all while remaining socially distant; whether Blind Date and Second Date will operate as expected; whether users will continue to spend more time in video chats and livestreaming than before the pandemic; whether video chats and time spend in video will continue to increase and if so at what rate; and whether we will accelerate the launch of video dating products across our portfolio of dating apps as anticipated. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained herein are forward-looking statements. The words “believe,” “may,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “think,” “should,” “plan,” “could,” “target,” “potential,” “project,” “outlook,” “is likely,” “expect” and similar expressions, as they relate to us, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from those in the forward-looking statements include the risk that our applications will not function easily or otherwise as anticipated, the risk that we will not launch additional features and upgrades as anticipated, the risk that unanticipated events affect the functionality of our applications with popular mobile operating systems, any changes in such operating systems that degrade our mobile applications’ functionality and other unexpected issues which could adversely affect usage on mobile devices. Further information on our risk factors is contained in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including the Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 filed with the SEC on March 12, 2020. Any forward-looking statement made by us herein speaks only as of the date on which it is made. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by law.
