Demand Media invests $18 million in fresh TLDs
That’s a whole lotta top level domains.
[Updated with comment from Demand Media and from investor call] Demand Media, parent firm of eNom, disclosed today that it has invested $18 million into fresh top level domain names.
It’s not clear if this is for application fees only:
In April 2012, Demand Media invested $18 million in pursuit of its generic Top Level Domain (“gTLD”) initiative, which it believes represents a complementary strategic growth opportunity for its Registrar services.
Given that this refers only to the month of April, when Demand Media would have completed its applications, it’s possible that this is for application fees and related expenses only. That’s a whole lot of top level domains.
Kristen Moore, VP, Corporate Marketing & Communications at Demand Media, tells Reglike: “As the ICANN application process is not yet completed, we aren’t commenting on the specifics of any applications beyond the size of our investment and our enthusiasm for the opportunity at this time.”
On the investor conference call today, the firm stated it has committed $18 million in “support” of the program. It has signed two partners that will use its backend system. It also stated it “may become a registry in our own right”, e.g. apply for domains itself. Its CFO stated it “funded” $18 million in April, which still leads us back to application fees.
Interestingly, by the spirit of the rules, Demand Media shouldn’t be eligible to apply for fresh TLDs due to multiple UDRP losses. But there are plenty of technicalities to get around that.
