Barry Diller must be head over heels in love with his online dating sites, which include Match.com.
Online dating has prospered, with $2.15 billion spent globally in 2011, according to industry estimates.
Match.com, owned by Diller’s IAC, reported 51 percent subscriber growth year-over-year in its latest filing, and has 2.7 million paying Romeos and Juliets.
Quarterly revenues soared 46 percent quarter over quarter in its latest report, with cash totaling $157.7 million for its fourth quarter. Between Christmas and Feb. 14, Match.com saw a 130 percent increase in subscribers.
Together, Match’s core and developing operations revenue increased by 13 percent, totaling $122.6 million.
Sam Yagan, the co-founder of OKCupid, now part of Match, says that his free site is experiencing 50 percent growth a year — with 7 million monthly unique visitors — relying just on just word-of-mouth.
Like everything on the Web, online dating just keeps getting smarter. Not only is it finding new ways to connect couples, but also innovative ways to cash in on it.
Smart Web site developers are capitalizing on the heart-shaped hole in the online dating space — the next generation of Web dating sites encourages singles to power off their computers and take things offline.
The subscription-based HowAboutWe.com relies on creative first-date proposals to connect people and reveal a snapshot of personality.
“Each date idea serves as a digital first impression,” says co-founder Brian Schechter. Dates like “How about we . . . take in a Poetry Slam night at the Nuyorican Poets Café” reveal personality.
JoinGrouper.com, one of the newer next-gen sites (it began in July 2011), calls itself a “social club.” It introduces strangers who don’t know each other but should, appealing to those who are more skeptical of traditional one-on-one online dating. The site cushions daters with two friends.
Dream date
Barry Diller has a soft spot in his heart for his online dating sites.
* Match.com 51% percent subscriber growth year-over-year
* 2.7M subscribers
* $157.7M Quarterly revenues up 46%
Barry Diller, online dating sites, online dating, subscriber growth, subscriber growth, Brian Schechter
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