NEW HOPE, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Meet Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: MEET), a leading provider of interactive dating solutions, announced the launch of monetization on GROWLr, the world’s largest bear-specific gay dating app. The announcement comes just one month after the company rolled out live video and free private 1:1 chats to the platform. The company accelerated its launch of live video to provide app members the opportunity to virtually connect with others amid the ongoing global pandemic.
Virtual gifting on GROWLr allows its members to send virtual gifts to livestreamers to show interest and support or start a conversation. Some of the virtual gifts available range from teddy bears, rainbows and roses, to the top gift of a dragon, worth 100,000 credits.
“The launch of virtual gifting on the GROWLr app is very exciting for the community,” said Geoff Cook, Chief Executive Officer of The Meet Group. “Not only does gifting provide a new way for our members to express themselves and connect with others, we also expect it to increase video engagement across the dating app, just like we’ve seen on MeetMe, Skout, and Tagged.”
According to a recent survey conducted on GROWLr, following the launch of Live, 72% of members saw someone they wanted to strike up a conversation with, and 63% felt they were better able to connect with someone when they went on Live. In regard to virtual gifting, 50% said they believed that the ability to send gifts will make for more interesting livestreams, and 61% were more inclined to watch top gifted streamers.
The Meet Group will be celebrating Pride Month through the duration of June and will feature special LGBTQ+ virtual in-app gifts, including a Pride flag, Pride rainbow, and Pride float.
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 whether gifting will increase video engagement across the GROWLr app. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained herein are forward-looking statements. The words “believe,” “may,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “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 SEC, including the Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 filed with the SEC on March 12, 2020 and the Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2020 filed with the SEC on May 6, 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.
