MIRA.L Regulatory News (MIRA)

24 Jan 2007 07:01

Yoomedia PLC24 January 2007 YooMedia plc / Index: AIM / Epic: YOO / Sector: Media 24 January 2007 YooMedia plc ("YooMedia" or "the Company") Online Dating Becomes Free As YooMedia Harnesses Social Networking Boom YooMedia plc, the publicly-quoted interactive media, gaming and mobileentertainment group, which owns two of the leading brands in the UK's lucrativedating market - Dateline and Avenues - is launching a new free, fullyfunctioning online dating service - LETSDATEFORFREE.COM. This launch beenprompted by the growth in popularity of social networking sites such as MySpaceand Facebox, which means that many basic online dating services will now have tobe provided without charge. The site will derive its revenue instead fromadvertising. "Social networking sites, by their nature offer a kind of informal online datingservice, which has redefined the business model for these services," explainsNeil MacDonald, YooMedia's Group Managing Director. "The nature of the datingindustry is changing. Traditional dating sites will find it increasinglydifficult to justify charging for basic online dating. These sites simply haveto go free and offer more community services in order to compete. There is,however, significant revenue potential at the higher end, where individuals areprepared to pay more for a more bespoke, verified dating service." Against this background, YooMedia has also confirmed that its Dateline businessis to be repositioned as a premium subscription service for people specificallylooking for long-term partners. Personal details of those joining the premiumDateline One-to-One service will be individually verified, giving assurance andsecurity for more serious dating. Bespoke in-depth psychometric tests will alsobe provided to deliver more detailed and accurate profiling. Dateline is themost established dating brand in the UK and has been operating successfully forover three decades. Avenues, YooMedia's elite introductions brand with over 20 offices around thecountry, is the UK's largest introductions agency. It will continue to provide aone to one personal introduction service and will expand nationally in the UKthrough local franchise operators." * * ENDS * * For further information visit www.yoomedia.com or contact: Neil MacDonald YooMedia plc Tel: 020 7462 0870Mark Percy Seymour Pierce Limited Tel: 020 7107 8000Isabel Crossley St Brides Media & Finance Ltd Tel: 020 7242 4477Howard Robinson/ Early Doors Tel: 0207 754 5560Joe Palmer howard@earlydoors.com / joe@earlydoors.com YooMedia plc is one of the UK's leading interactive entertainment content andservice providers. It conceives and delivers interactive content with whichbrands can engage and secure transactions from their consumer base. Thisactivity takes place across and can integrate multiple platforms, includinginteractive television, the web and mobile phones. The Company's client base includes broadcasters & content owners; brand ownersand advertisers; gaming operators, and retailers and service providers. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange