The Meet Group Announces World’s Largest Virtual Speed Dating Event

The Meet Group, Inc., a leading provider of interactive dating solutions, has announced it will host the world’s largest virtual speed dating event, partnering with Plenty of Fish to each donate $10,000 for a total of $20,000 to Feeding America® in light of the coronavirus pandemic. The event, which takes place on Sunday, September 20 from 8:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. (EDT) will be available to members on The Meet Group’s MeetMe and Skout mobile dating apps, as well as Plenty of Fish.

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The Meet Group Announces World’s Largest Virtual Speed Dating Event (Photo: Business Wire)

According to Guinness World Records, the largest known speed dating event, which drew 964 people, occurred on February 14, 2019, Valentine’s Day, in Dublin, Ireland. The Meet Group anticipates twice as many people will participate in the World’s Largest Virtual Speed Dating event.

"The pandemic has forever changed the nature of dating, tilting it toward video,” said Geoff Cook, CEO of The Meet Group. “With 1.2 million broadcasters and 8.9 million viewers per month, our livestreaming solutions are changing the nature of dating apps, adding an element of social entertainment while providing meaningful connection and an antidote to loneliness. We are thrilled to partner with Plenty of Fish to host the world's largest speed dating event."

The Meet Group’s livestreaming feature has continued to bring together members seeking love and connection. Since the declaration of the global pandemic in March, nearly one million members use Live video every single day, and over 30,000,000 dating games have been played on The Meet Group’s portfolio of dating apps and livestreaming partners. In a recent survey of MeetMe daters, 76% of respondents said they feel they are better able to connect with people over video and 84% feel that video dating can be a way to safely date in a pandemic.

• During this same period, the total time spent on The Meet Group’s livestreaming platform increased by 38% to 37.9 million minutes per day, with the average participating member spending nearly 30 minutes per day either streaming or watching livestreams
• 7.6 million matches made on NextDate since March this year

"As one of the first dating apps to bring livestreaming to our members, we've continued to see enthusiasm for distance dating – 75% of singles report that they are more comfortable video chatting with a match than before the pandemic," said Plenty of Fish CEO Malgosia Green. "We're committed to finding alternative ways for our members to date while social distancing – hosting the world's largest speed date is just one example of our continued focus on livestreaming."

Members from around the world are invited to join the event:

• New York - September 20 at 8 p.m. EST
• Rio de Janeiro - September 20 at 9 p.m. GMT-3
• Hong Kong - September 21 at 8 a.m. GMT+8
• Tokyo - September 21 at 9 a.m. GMT +9
• Sydney - September 21 at 10 a.m. GMT +10

Members interested in attending the event should go to the Date tab in Live on September 20 from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. EDT.

Following the event, The Meet Group and Plenty of Fish will make a $20,000 donation, in total, to Feeding America®. Every dollar donated to the organization is used to supply food and funding to local food banks across the country. Feeding America®, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is the largest charitable food assistance network, partnering with 200 food banks and 60,000 food agencies across the United States and Puerto Rico to bring food where it is needed the most.

About The Meet Group

The Meet Group owns and operates the most engaging dating communities in the world, spanning 5 apps including MeetMe, Skout, Tagged, LOVOO and GROWLr. Serving millions of daters daily, our community sends 70 million chats per day. Each month, our livestreaming solutions entice our community to spend 1.1 billion minutes in video. Our network size, technology, and leading moderation and talent teams enable us to partner for and acquire new audiences, including through video platform-as-service products. The Meet Group, Inc. is a subsidiary of ParshipMeet Group, a diversified international market leader in online dating, which also owns and operates leading matchmaking brands eharmony, Parship, and ElitePartner. For more information, visit themeetgroup.com, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

About Plenty of Fish

Plenty of Fish, a Match Group (NASDAQ: MTCH) company, is one of the largest global online dating companies and is available in 11 languages and more than 20 countries. Unlike many dating offerings today, Plenty of Fish offers a less prescriptive, low-pressure user experience that allows singles to discover what they’re looking for. For more information please visit www.pof.com

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