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| Match.com |
Match.com is an online dating company which reportedly has more than 20 million members, made up of a 49/51 male/female ratio,[dubious – discuss] and Web sites serving 25 countries in more than 8 different languages. Its headquarters are in Dallas, Texas and the company also has offices in West Hollywood, Tokyo, Rio, and Beijing. Match.com is owned by IAC/InterActiveCorp and employs more than 340 people worldwide. Match.com has nearly $342.598 million in revenue and 1.3 million paying subscribers.
Definition Matc.com
Match.com was started by Gary Kremen in 1993. It was started as a proof-of-concept for Electric Classifieds which aimed to provide classified advertising systems for newspapers. Early on, Kremen was assisted by Peng T. Ong, who helped design the initial system, and Simon Glinsky, who helped develop one of the first Internet business plans for Match.com and provided management and marketing expertise. The initial business scope developed by this team included a possible subscription model, now common among personals services, and inclusion of diverse communities with high first trial and market leaders status, including women, technology professionals and the LGBT community. Fran Maier joined in late 1994 to lead the Match.com business unit where she significantly bolstered the strategy to make Match.com friendly and accessible to women (the men would then follow).
Match.com went live in early 1995 as a free beta. It was first profiled in Wired Magazine in 1995. In 1998, Match.com was purchased by Cendant. A year later Match.com was purchased by IAC/InterActiveCorp (then still operating under the name TicketMaster). In late 1999, Match.com was moved to Dallas, Texas, to merge with another matching site, One & Only networks, that IAC/InterActiveCorp had purchased the same year.
Between September 9, 2004, and April 24, 2007, Jim Safka was the Chief Executive Officer of Match.com. Thomas Enraght-Moony was the CEO from April, 2007 to February 19, 2009.
On February 19, 2009, Match.com divested its European operations to Meetic. Following the divestment, Greg Blatt, an Executive Vice President and General Counsel of IAC/InterActiveCorp, was named CEO of Match.com. Mr. Blatt retains the title of EVP of IAC/InterActiveCorp but has stepped down as its General Counsel.
On May 24, 2010, Match.com became the exclusive provider of online dating service for Yahoo! via the formation of a co-branded site, "Match.com on Yahoo!".
In November 2004, Guinness World Records recognized Match.com as the largest online dating site in the world. At the time, more than 42 million singles globally had registered with Match.com since its launch in 1995, and worldwide there were over 15 million members using the service.
In late 2005, Match.com in the United States entered into a strategic partnership with Dr. Phil on a new US marketing campaign called "MindFindBind", a monthly subscription program that Match.com members can pay an extra fee to access.
In December 2006, the layout of the United States Match.com site was redesigned, to go in line with the newly launched series of black and white TV advertisements in the US featuring Match.com members.
It was announced in February 2009 that Match.com's European operations was sold to Meetic for 5 million Euros and a reported twenty-seven percent interest in the company. At the same time that this sale was announced, the current CEO Thomas Enraght-Mooney stepped down, while IAC's (Match.com's parent company) Executive VP and General Counsel, Greg Blatt, took his place.
Match.com competitors today include eHarmony, Zoosk, Plenty of Fish, and SpeedDate.com.
MatchLive and MatchTravel
In 2002 and early 2003, Match.com's then CEO, Tim Sullivan, tried to expand Match.com reach by expanding into the local dating scene with a service called MatchLive. Daters would meet in a public location sponsored by Match.com. People would be involved in social activities and a form of speed dating together. The idea was scrapped by the parent company. Shortly afterwards, IAC fired Tim Sullivan as acting CEO, and laid off 30 people in the Dallas office involved with the MatchLive brand. The company stated that it planned to refocus its operation moving forward on on-line dating instead of hosting singles and speed-dating events.
MatchTravel was an attempt about the same time as the MatchLive brand to offer discounts via the then sister company Expedia, Inc. to daters meeting on Match.com. The service was rescinded shortly afterward.