SF GATE - Aug 23 - Online dating is a saturated marketplace, dominated by Barry Diller's IAC/InterActiveCorp. It controls ~27% of the U.S. dating services market. Its next closest competitor, eHarmony, has half that. Tagged, a social discovery startup, killed its dating app, Swoon, this year, in part because of the saturation of IAC dating products. "Any company should be cautious in innovating in the dating market," said Steve Sarner, the company's VP of marketing. In 2014, IAC's dating-related profit is expected to grow by 14%. "They have been very aggressive and bought companies that were very well-placed strategically and by design. That is a big part of how they have grown," said Mark Brooks, an online-dating analyst. "They are at this point running out of companies they can buy." Tinder, the company's latest hit, is a version of what Hot or Not pioneered a decade ago and what the app Grindr had perfected for the gay community. "Basically, they are shaking trees," said Brooks.
by Kristen V. Brown
See full article at SF Gate
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