Match.com loses subscribers for first time
Barry Diller's InterActiveCorp, formerly USA Interactive sans its entertainment businesses that it sold to Vivendi, lost $3.02 on its shares even though it continued to do well with increased revenues and profits. Investors had hoped for more aggressive growth. What was surprising, according to this New York Times story (registration required), was the loss in membership at Match.com, InterActiveCorp's star business in the hot online personals category.
One sour spot in the company's portfolio of companies was Match.com, which had been the leading service in online dating, a rapidly growing and profitable market. Its paid membership base — excluding members of uDate which it acquired in the quarter — fell by 44,300 in the second quarter to 722,300, its first decline.
In an interview, Mr. Diller said that the growth in the service had resumed with improvements made to the Match.com site in June. Compared with a year ago, revenue from personals increased 62 percent, to $48.2 million. Its operating income rose 14 percent, to $7.6 million.