Catena Media, one of the largest players in the iGaming affiliate industry, reported a 33% drop in quarterly revenue in Q3 2024. According to company reports, this reflected a 29% revenue decline in North America, and a 32% drop in new-depositing customers (NDCs) year-over-year to 27,342. Catena’s Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) also fell significantly, down 84% to €3.9 million.
Due to this decline, Catena began organizational restructuring, aimed at streamlining its focus on core products and driving cost efficiency. This restructuring led to 29 layoffs within the content and marketing team, a decision that’s expected to save the company €2.2 million annually.
Despite the negative Q3 performance, Catena is confident it can, once again, begin delivering profitable –and sustainable—growth.
New leadership and a profit-focused realignment
One core change from the restructuring saw Catena Media appointing Manuel Stan as CEO in July 2024, with Liv Biesemans appointed as Chief Legal and Compliance Officer, who will officially join in January 2025. This new executive team will focus on profitable growth, with Stan making it clear the team is ready to face challenges with the new team in place:
“With the right teams and strategic priorities in place and a clear focus on our core products, we now have a strong base to tackle our next challenge: delivering profitable growth.”
According to Stan, he views the company’s structural changes as vital to creating a “product-led organization” that’s capable of operating consistently and profitably. These changes match Catena’s attempts to prioritize markets and products that offer the highest returns, something that’s more important than ever in the volatile iGaming sector.
Adapting to a changing market
Historically, Catena Media’s revenue model has relied heavily on media partnerships and organic search-driven traffic—two areas impacted by recent changes in Google policies and market dynamics. In an attempt to mitigate these challenges, Catena has had to make changes to its marketing strategy, letting certain partnerships expire, a decision that’s set to save around €1.6 million per quarter.
From an outsider’s perspective, it appears this is a shift toward optimizing high-value affiliate relationships over traditional cost-heavy media buys, something many other iGaming affiliates are also relying on in the increasingly competitive market.
Looking ahead, however, Catena Media remains optimistic, and they’re targeting double-digit organic growth in revenue and adjusted EBITDA in 2025 and 2026. This updated target fits with the broader affiliate trend we’re seeing; revenue-share agreements over flat-rate models.
Focusing on sustainability in affiliate marketing
For Catena Media and other major iGaming affiliates, it’s clear that adapting to market shifts, while ensuring operational efficiency, is vital. In Catena’s case, their restructuring efforts may pose current challenges, but if all goes to plan, their long-term growth strategy may prove effective.
This adaptability is especially important as other iGaming affiliates are searching for innovative ways to drive traffic and grow revenue in a saturated, competitive market.
A cautionary notice to iGaming affiliate practitioners
These market indications are a sign of how the trends are moving forward and affiliates should take note of the changes happening further up the line with bigger brands to understand where they can access niche audiences that are not of focus to bigger affiliate companies.
Affiliate managers should also take note as changes in revenue and reductions in staff can have a knock on effect to campaigns being secured in advance at higher or lower commercial rates. It’s important for affiliate companies to remain abreast of industry trends and market related cautionary messaging to understand how to navigate the constantly changing supply and demand ratios within the competitive iGaming industry.
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