Category: Match Group

Match Group Faces Pressure to Revive Tinder Amid Investor Scrutiny

Posted on December 12, 2024
Logo of Match Group

BNN BLOOMBERG – Match Group faces heightened expectations at its investor meeting, with analysts and activist investors demanding a clear turnaround plan for Tinder, which has struggled with declining subscriber growth despite recent updates. The company’s market value has fallen by $41B since 2021 due to frequent leadership changes and limited product innovation. Activist investors, including Starboard Value, are pushing for growth and have proposed a sale if improvements fail. Tinder’s new CEO has a limited window to demonstrate progress as analysts call for a credible strategy to stabilize user trends by 2025. Other concerns include capital allocation, growth for Hinge, and expansion in Asia, but Tinder remains the primary focus as Match works to restore investor confidence.

by Natalie Lung
See full article at BNN Bloomberg

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‘It Feels Like Admin’: Why Are People Falling out of Love With Dating Apps

Posted on December 10, 2024
Dating apps

THE GUARDIAN – ~1.4M people in the UK left online dating in the past year, as experts say users view it more as a chore than a social activity. Ofcom’s 2024 Online Nation report reveals a 16% decline in the use of the top 10 dating apps between 2023 and 2024. Tinder saw the largest drop, losing over 500K users since May 2023, while Bumble and Hinge lost 368K and 131K, respectively. Researchers at the University of Leeds’ Centre for Love, Sex, and Relationships (CLSR) attribute the decline to user fatigue and a sense of detachment from reality. Natasha McKeever, a lecturer at CLSR, notes that virtual dating feels more like a task than a social experience. Another factor is the monopolization of dating apps; Match Group accounts for over half of the 7.27M users of the top 10 apps in 2024.

by Raphael Boyd
See full article at The Guardian

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Gen Z Is Breaking up With Dating Apps, Ofcom Says

Posted on November 29, 2024

TinderTHE GUARDIAN – Ofcom reports a decline in the use of top UK dating apps like Tinder, Hinge, Bumble, and Grindr, with Gen Z increasingly favoring real-life connections. Tinder lost 600K users, and Hinge dropped by 131K since 2023. Analysts suggest the novelty of dating apps is fading for younger users, who now romanticize in-person interactions. Apps still appeal to younger adults, reaching 18% of 18-24-year-olds, but challenges like safety concerns and overwhelming choices persist. Match Group acknowledges the shift, aiming to create lower-pressure, more authentic experiences for Gen Z users.

by Dan Milmo
See full article at The Guardian

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New Dating Apps Betting on Matchmaking

Posted on November 28, 2024

Cheers logoBUSINESS INSIDER – Several new "matchmaking" dating apps have launched in the past year, addressing dating-app fatigue. Sitch is an AI matchmaking app launched in New York in November. Cheers is an app that lets friends play matchmaker in a social-media feed, launched in October. Facebook Dating even launched a matchmaking feature last month. Tinder's cofounder and former CEO, Sean Rad, said on a September episode of the 20VC podcast that he had always imagined the dating app moving beyond swiping and into matchmaking. In 2017, Hinge launched a stand-alone app called Matchmaker that lets friends swipe for each other. It appears to have since shut down. Tinder, also owned by Match Group, launched a similar feature in 2023.

Loop is a matchmaking app where everyone can set up their single friends. Only a third of the user base are singles; the rest are friends and family members or even professional or hobbyist matchmakers. Loop launched in 2023 and is currently free for all users.

Arrange should launch in December and will let users link their profiles with a "scout," a trusted friend or family member, who can talk with potential matches ahead of time and vet for compatibility.

Amori is a dating-advice app with characters users can chat with, is experimenting with matchmaking using a personal assistant (though it isn't live within the app yet).

by Sydney Bradley & Daniel Latu
See full article at Business Insider

The Business of Love: Match Group on “Under the Radar”

Posted on November 26, 2024

OPW – On Under the Radar by Money Matters, host Chua Tian Tian interviewed Malgosia Green, CEO of Match Group Asia, about the company's strategy. In Japan, Match Group's Pairs accounts for 1 in 10 marriages with 20M users. The discussion touched on Match Group's Q3 income of $211M and its exit from live-streaming services like Hakuna. Green shared insights into Pairs' success and its potential to replicate the model in other Asian markets.

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Match Shares Tumble, Signaling an Opening for Dating Startups

Posted on November 11, 2024

Dating apps many on screenBUSINESS INSIDER – Match and Bumble stocks wavered. Tinder expects another drop in paying users in Q4. A 2024 Forbes Health survey reported 78% of Americans felt exhausted by dating apps. Match Group shares dropped 18% Thursday after Tinder paying users fell 4% to 9.9m in Q3. Hinge Q3 revenue grew 36%. Bumble saw 10% paying user growth to 2.9m. ARPU dropped 10%. Revenue was flat, dropping 0.7% to $274m.

Hinge now limits users' simultaneous match conversations to reduce unanswered messages to help "daters shift their mindset from quantity to quality of matches" and follow through with their matches. This is helping increase response rates on the app.

Earlier this year, Bumble acquired Geneva, a group chat app for niche communities for $17m. Bumble founder and chair Whitney Wolfe Herd said we "will not be a dating app in a few years" but rather for "human connection." CEO Lidiane Jones said the company will "enable the next generation of online-to-real-world connections."

by Dan Latu, Katie Balevic & Sydney Bradley
See full article at Business Insider

Mark Brooks: Dating companies need to persuade the public they have their best interests at heart. User sentiment is changing. We need to solve the continuity problem by broadening our perspective while increasing our sheer utility in dating. AI is the future.

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Match Group Q3 Financial Results

Posted on November 7, 2024

Match Group logo MATCH GROUP – In Q3 2024, Match Group's revenue grew by 2% YOY, reaching $895M. The period saw a 3% decline in total payers to 15.2M, while revenue per payer increased by 5% to $19.26. Operating income fell 14% to $211M due to impairment costs associated with phasing out certain live streaming services, although adjusted operating income rose 3% to $343M. Share repurchases continued, totaling $241M for the quarter.

Tinder's performance showed improvement, with a 4% decline in payers, less than Q2's 8% drop. Hinge achieved significant growth, with direct revenue up 36% YOY and reaching record downloads in the U.S. and Europe. Match Group Asia saw steady growth for Azar, especially in Europe, while Evergreen and Emerging brands continued expanding into specific demographic markets.

Match Group expects Q4 revenue between $865-$875M, with slight growth excluding revenue from discontinued services. An Investor Day scheduled for December 11, 2024, will outline further strategic insights.

See full article at Match Group website

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Match Group Q3 Earnings Report Preview: What to Look for

Posted on November 5, 2024

Match Group logo largeINVESTING – Match will report earnings tomorrow after market hours. Match Group met analysts' revenue expectations last quarter, reporting revenues of $864.1M, up 4.2% YOY. However, it was a slower quarter for the company, with a decline in users. It reported 14.84M users, down 5%YOY. This quarter, analysts expect Match Group's revenue to grow 2.2% YOY to $900.9M, slowing from the 8.9% increase recorded in the same quarter last year.

See full article at Investing.com

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Texas Law Shields Tinder and OKCupid from Biometric Privacy Suit

Posted on November 4, 2024

Lawsuit dismissed
ID TECH – A federal judge in Dallas dismissed a biometric privacy lawsuit against Match Group, owner of Tinder and OKCupid, which alleged violations of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) due to collecting user biometric data without proper consent. The case involved Tinder's 2020 photo verification feature using video selfies. Judge David C. Godbey ruled that Texas law was applied based on the apps' terms of service, which does not allow individuals to sue over biometric privacy like Illinois' BIPA.

See full article at ID Tech

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Critics Compare Dating Apps to Gambling, Highlighting Exploitation and Addictive Features

Posted on November 4, 2024

Addicted to love how dating apps ‘exploit’ their users Online datingTHE GUARDIAN – Critics compare dating apps like Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge to gambling products, arguing they exploit users with addictive, game-like features and pay-to-play upgrades that drive revenue instead of fostering genuine connections. In the UK, 4.4M adults use these platforms, with about a quarter paying for services, generating £150M annually and making the UK the third-largest market globally after the US and China. Match Group, which holds a 60% share of the UK market, does not track how many lasting relationships its 55B matches have produced. Allegations include deceptive algorithms that encourage continuous use and subscriptions. Experts compare these apps' financial models to gambling, using unpredictable rewards to keep users hooked. Match Group denies these claims, stating its goal is to help users form real connections. Calls for tighter regulation are increasing as users report feeling exploited.

by Siân Boyle
See full article at The Guardian

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