Month: February 2008

FORBES — Feb 14 — There are about 92 million singles the U.S., says Match.com CEO Thomas Enraght-Moony. Match.com is an online dating leader, with networks in 37 different countries and with roughly 15 million users. Enraght-Moony talked to Forbes.com about why online dating is now widely accepted.

Q: Are the people who use the service in the U.S. much younger or older than in other markets?
A: Our sweet spot is people in their late 20s into their mid to late 30s. The 50-plus is our fastest-growing segment.

Q: Who do you worry about the most? eHarmony.com? Singlesnet.com?
A: This is just a short list of people that I worry about. We're in 37
different markets, and every market that we're in there's a list of
competitors.

Q: How is the money made in your business? Is it all subscription-based revenue?
A: We're about 95% in subscription revenues. Last year, we did $349
million in revenue and $78 million in profit, which is up about 24%
over the prior year.

Q: Are people finally comfortable with saying they use online dating services like Match?
A: I think people on Match today are very comfortable talking about it.
It's a big change from 12 years ago, and that's part of the success
we've had.

Q: Have the social networks hurt business?
A: Those services
are great for keeping in contact with the people they already know.
But, if they want to expand their possibilities or are interested in
meeting people outside their social circle, they come back to Match.
Late last year, we launched an application for Facebook. It's called
Little Black Book at Match.com.

Q: What's the next big offering in terms of technology or expansion?
A: We're rolling out a mobile platform, we're figuring out how to work with Facebook and MySpace.