The 11th Hour Dispatch — Wednesday, August 8, 2018
BIG BUSINESS
You know that Snapchat filter that looks sweet and then turns into a demonic monster? That’s probably CEO Evan Spiegel today. According to Snap’s Q2 earnings report, the app lost three million daily active users in Q2. This is the first time Snapchat has lost daily users quarter-over-quarter since it shot out of Silicon Valley like a bat out of hell in 2011. On the flip side, revenue increased 44% annually to $262 million, beating expectations. Classic v relatable case of, “You win a few million, you lose a few million.” Also on another note of continuing that trend of being v relatable, Snapchat picked up $250 million in funding from a Saudi prince.
BINGE WATCH
Even the Oscars aren’t immune to trying to find ways to attract those eyeballs. The Academy has added an “outstanding achievement in popular film” category to this year’s award show. No details on eligibility were given yet, but whatever the results are sure to get Twitter ablaze (even more than this announcement already did). In addition, this year’s 91st annual show will be cut down to just three hours of dad jokes from millionaire actors to try to keep viewers engaged. This means some categories will not be aired and will instead be aired during commercial breaks.
YOUNG MONEY
Match Group is reportedly set to rake it $800 million in revenue from lonely young people using Tinder this year. That doubles the $400 million Tinder pulled in in 2017, and it makes Tinder responsible for almost half of Match Group’s entire $1.7 billion revenue. Most of that increase comes from people paying for enhanced features through Tinder’s subscription service, which was released last year. By shelling out $14.99 each month, users can swipe until their heart’s content (literally), and in Q2, 300K subscribers signed up to do just that. As Tinder’s target customer, it’s honestly surprising to see a subscriber number that high for a subscription service to a dating app most had become accustomed to using for free, but by all means, more power to them.
NOTHIN’ BUT ‘NET
Cardi B told Refinery29 she dyed her hair blue to match her Lamborghini. As the kids said back in 2013, goals.
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