Famous Four Media Archives - Goldstein Report

Famous Four Media Now Second Largest New gTLD Registry

[news release] Famous Four Media is delighted to announce that they have reached an extraordinary milestone. Since their launch in 2014, the Company has sold over 3,000,000 domain names, with unprecedented growth seen across all of their gTLDâs. In this short space of time, one of the flagship TLDâs, .WIN, is already close to hitting the 1 million domain mark, showing no signs of a decline in a highly competitive market

This week sees the much anticipated launch of FFMâs newest gTLD, .STREAM, which is expected to generate a very high number of registrations from its release. This is just one of the plans currently in the pipeline for continued expansion. FFM fully expects to maintain the current level of growth enjoyed so far, well into and beyond 2016.

Of its current success, FFMâS Chief Revenue Officer, Christopher Cousins, said, âI am thrilled that our registry business has achieved 3 million domain name sales in such a short space of time. 2016 has already proven to be an exceptional year for us, and with many upcoming developments currently in the planning phase across our registries and the wider business, it is a truly exciting time to be part of the FFM family and to share in their vision for the futureâ.

Sale Launch: To help celebrate this extraordinary achievement, FFM are delighted to announce that they will shortly be launching a huge sale on premium inventory; with clients being able to enjoy discounts of up to 90% for a limited time! Any registrar wishing to participate in this offer is urged to contact their FFM account manager.

Contact
Florin Novac
press@famousfourmedia.com

About Famous Four Media
Famous Four Media Limited (www.famousfourmedia.com) was set up in 2011 by a group of recognized domain name experts and successful financiers to actively provide products and services to TLD Registry operators under ICANNâs new generic Top Level Domains (âgTLDâ) program.

Drawing on the best from both Registries and Registrars, Famous Four Mediaâs management team has extensive experience in the domain name industry having successfully launched, operated, marketed and run generic TLDs under previous rounds and having managed some of the largest corporate and retail domain name registrars in the world.

The 24 gTLD applications, that are currently under Famous Four Media management, include some of the most interesting and valuable domain suffixes, such as .ACCOUNTANT, .BID, .CHARITY, .CRICKET, .DATE, .DOWNLOAD, .FAITH, .LOAN, .MEN, .PARTY, .RACING, .REVIEW, .SCIENCE, .STREAM, .TRADE, .WEBCAM and .WIN.

Chinese Go Big On .VIP As Total New gTLD Registrations Pass 18 Million

The .vip new gTLD entered General Availability on 17 May and has had the biggest launch of any of the new gTLDs, reaching 203,720 registrations five days later.

The .vip new gTLD entered General Availability on 17 May and has had the biggest launch of any of the new gTLDs, reaching 203,720 registrations five days later.The figures are from nTLDstats.com and show .vip is now the 18th largest of the new gTLDs with almost 210,000 registrations. Registrations have been dominated by Chinese registrars with 20 of the top 25 registrars for .vip domains being based in China. And up until 22 May, these registrars “The strong launch has also been a boon financially for the .vip registry, Minds + Machines (MMX). The company noted that in terms of billings and orders received for .vip domains by 22 May, the combined total to date is US$3.2million, and the gTLD was acquired via auction for $3.1 million.MMX is confident that renewal rates have the potential to be meaningful as no “freemium” strategies or equivalent were used during the launch phase to generate initial volume.”The Chinese market for top-level domains is real and we are delighted to have accessed this key region through the .vip launch,” said Toby Hall, CEO of MMX. “It is a major milestone for the Company, the new management team and our business model centred on working with best-in-class partners across every aspect of our business so as to best monetize our assets while maintaining a tight control on central overheads. It demonstrates that, when properly executed, how quickly the initial investment costs for a domain can be recovered and the potential for a strong recurring revenue established. The .vip launch equally illustrates how as a b2b business we do not have to burn funds on marketing to reach end-consumers and achieve outstanding results. Not only is .vip creating an exceptional platform through which to grow our presence in the expanding Asia market, it is providing an excellent template on how best to reach end-markets that can be potentially mirrored across our portfolio.”And the launch of .vip has contributed to the total number of domains registered across all new gTLDs surging past 18 million with total registrations now standing at 18.009 million. The largest of the new gTLDs remains .xyz with 2.885 million followed by .top with .2.377 million and then .wang with 1.070 million. These are the only new gTLDs with registrations passing the one million mark.Overall there are 24 new gTLDs with more than 100,000 registrations and 163 with more than 10,000.It’s not just with .vip that China dominates registrations. Of all domains registered, the registrant is located in China for 9.642 million domains or 53.54 percent. Registrants are located in the USA for 10.6 percent (1.910m) and German registrants come third with 2.92 percent of all registrants (525,000). For 14.2 percent of domains the location of the registrant is unknown.On the registry side of things, the largest is XYZ.COM with six new gTLDs and 2.897 million domains followed by Famous Four Media (15 new gTLDs and 2.855 million registrations) followed by Jiangsu Bangning Science & Technology Co.,Ltd. with 2.377 million domains for its .top gTLD. Donuts is the fourth largest new gTLD registry with 193 new gTLDs and 1.704 million domains.Of the backend registry providers, CentralNic is the largest with 35 new gTLDs and 4.194 million registrations followed by ZDNS with 17 new gTLDs and 4.134 million domains, Neustar with 144 new gTLDs and 3.792 million domains and then Rightside with 2.222 million domains and 232 new gTLDs.

Famous Four Media Hits 2 Million Domains Under Management

[news release] According to Jon Meacham, executive editor at Random House, “A lot of people, including business leaders, think the future belongs to China.

[news release] According to Jon Meacham, executive editor at Random House, “A lot of people, including business leaders, think the future belongs to China.”

In the domain name industry, at present, this observation holds true. For example, the leading registrar for new gTLDs is west.cn with nearly 20% of the available market. That’s a full 10 percentage points ahead of the second most popular registrar AlpNames.

Things are certainly different in Asia. According to ntldstats.com, seven out of the top 10 most popular extensions in Asia have only three characters, none of them are Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) and the remaining three extensions have four characters.

“It’s fair to say that our domain endings are proving very popular in Asia, and in China in particular,” declared Geir Rasmussen, CEO of Famous Four Media. “The simplicity of our extensions such as .WIN, .BID and .MEN are appealing to the Asian market and this popularity has helped Famous Four Media to smash 2 million names under management well ahead of our initial projections.”

Famous Four Media, one of the fastest growing new gTLD registry management companies, has seen an increasing contribution from the Asian geography over the past two years, rapidly outstripping European demand.

“This is a clear indicator that the new gTLD program, as a whole, has struck a chord in Asia. Prior to the launch of the new gTLD program, Asian countries including China were only mildly interested in existing extensions like .com. Now, however, China, with its aggressive focus on international trade, can really see the value in descriptive domain extensions.” continued Rasmussen. “The most popular domain extensions appear to be short, positive and punchy and .WIN fits the bill on all of those scores. For example, over 80% of the 600,000 registrations in .WIN have come from this geography. China is also playing a significant part in helping the global new gTLD premium domain name market evolve. We are seeing significant investment in premium domain names from the Asian markets.”

Famous Four Media managed registries comprise 15 new gTLD extensions including .WIN, .BID, and .LOAN. Domain names can be registered through Famous Four Media’s network of ICANN accredited registrars.

About Famous Four Media
Famous Four Media Limited (www.famousfourmedia.com) was set up in 2011 by a group of recognized domain name experts and successful financiers to actively provide products and services to TLD Registry operators under ICANN’s new generic Top Level Domains (“gTLD”) program.

Drawing on the best from both Registries and Registrars, Famous Four Media’s management team has extensive experience in the domain name industry having successfully launched, operated, marketed and run generic TLDs under previous rounds and having managed some of the largest corporate and retail domain name registrars in the world.

Christmas Comes For New gTLDs As Total Registrations Pass 11 Million

On 23 December, the number of domain names registered across all delegated new gTLDs passed the 11 million mark, according to nTLDstats.com, out of a total of just over 300 million domains registered across all TLDs

According to the website that compiles a comprehensive tally of statistics for new gTLDs, they note that on 24 December there were 11,000,512 registrations. Going by how nTLDstats.com update their data, it means on the 23rd the 11 million mark was passed.

The largest of the 868 gTLDs that have been delegated continues to be .xyz with 1.769 million registrations, and still far ahead of the second largest, now .top with 955,000 registrations followed by .wang with 601,000.

Of the top 30 by registration numbers, the only strings that arenât generic are one brand gTLD (.ovh with 79,400 registrations) and the geographic gTLDs of .nyc (79,900), .london (62,300) and .berlin (58,300).

Of the 868 delegated gTLDs, around 410 have entered the General Availability phase while a large number of those delegated are ânot availableâ and are brand gTLDs.

Currently there are 16 gTLDs with more than 100,000 registrations, 33 with more than 50,000 and 140 with more than 10,000.

By registration numbers, the largest registry is XYZ.COM with 1.774 million domains across its six gTLDs, then Famous Four Media (15 and 1.686m), Donuts (191 and 1.543m). On gTLD numbers, Donuts is the largest followed by Rightside (40 gTLDs) and Uniregistry (23).

The largest backend registry provider is Neustar with 101 gTLDs and 2.354m domains followed by CentralNIC (34 and 2.331m), ZDNS (17 and 2.187m) and then Rightside (231 and 1.948m).

Over 72 percent (7.992m) of the registered domains are parked. And there are naturally, and unfortunately, domains that are linked to malware and phishing. But the percentage is tiny with 9,269 or 0.08 percent of all domains registered in new gTLDs having suspicious activity.

New gTLD Registrations Soar Past Ten Million As Generic Keywords Dominate Top Strings

The total number of domain names under management across all new gTLDs soared past the ten million mark on 17 November, with the increase in the DUM increasing markedly in recent months.

The total number of domain names under management across all new gTLDs soared past the ten million mark on 17 November, with the increase in the DUM increasing markedly in recent months.It was only back in mid-August that the total number reached seven million, taking two months to increase from six million. But then in early October total registrations passed the eight million mark, and nine million was reached on 3 November.This out of a total of around 300 million registrations across all gTLDs, given that at the end of June 2015 there were 296 million domains registered across all TLDs, according to Verisign. So it means new gTLD registrations make up a small but sizeable figure of around 3.5 percent of all registrations. Total registrations though are still dwarfed by .com with around 123 million registrations, 27.1 million for .tk, 16.0 million for .de, 15.2 million for .net, 12.8 million for .cn and 10.8 million for .org.The largest of the new gTLDs by a long way continues to be .xyz with 1.621 million registrations or 16.04 percent of all new gTLD registrations. Registrations jumped a dramatic 200,000 over three days at the end of October and early November and by around 150,000 since.The second largest of the new gTLDs is now .top with over 890,000 registrations which saw registrations grow by around 300,000 in early November, then .wang (592,000), .win (474,000) and then .网址 (website), which for quite a while was the second largest of the new gTLDs now fifth, dropping from a maximum of almost 376,000 to 365,600 registrations today as many domains aren’t renewed come renewal time.One issue that is becoming clearer is the prominence of generic strings among the top gTLDs by registration numbers. Of the top 20, they dominate along with a few gTLDs aimed at the Chinese market such as .ren and .xin.Of the regional gTLDs, .nyc continues to be the largest with almost 87,500 registrations in 19th place while .london (70,600) and .berlin (68,300) in 21st and 22nd easily the best in this category. Depending on how one classifies gTLDs, it would be a fair assumption that of the top 30 by registration numbers, only four are non-generic word strings. The other being the French .ovh.There are now 795 gTLDs delegated, and around 410 of these have entered General Availability. There are 13 that have passed the 100,000 registrations mark, 30 have past 50,000 and 138 have passed 10,000.On backend registries, CentralNic is the largest with 2.1 million domains registered across its 30 new gTLDs followed by the Chinese ZDNS with 2.0 million across 17 new gTLDs then Neustar (1.9m and 68 gTLDs) and Rightside (1.9m and 230). On actual registries, XYZ.COM is the largest with 1.6 million registrations and six new gTLDs followed by Donuts (1.5m and 191) and Famous Four Media (1.4m and 14).

Nearly 10% Of All New gTLD Registrations In Famous Four Media Managed Registries

[news release] Earlier today (20 May), the number of domain names in Famous Four Media registries surpassed half a million. This equates to nearly 10% of all domains registered under ICANNâs new gTLD program

âWe are delighted in rapid growth in the registries under our managementâ said Andy Churley, CMO of Famous Four Media, the registry management company for 16 new domain extensions. âThe go-to-market approach FFM has adopted is clearly striking a chord with the public and to have reached 500,000 registrations in such a short time is a testament to the strong strategy and great staff at FFM.â

In 2013, ICANN the body that oversees domain names on the Internet embarked on a massive program of change opening up the domain name space to thousands of new domain endings. Web-addresses can now end in almost any series of letters.

âA great part of the success comes down to the domain endings we manage.â continued Churley âPeople love .PARTY, .SCIENCE and .WEBCAM in particular, these strings have a broad appeal and are words that work in many languages. We are just as excited about the domain endings we will be launching, in particular .DATE and .REVIEW, which we believe share a mass appeal. â

Famous Four Media plans to launch 10 more domain extension in 2015 to augment the six domain endings (.BID, .TRADE,.WEBCAM, .SCIENCE, .CRICKET and of course .PARTY ) that are already available. Domain names can be registered through Famous Four Mediaâs extensive network of ICANN accredited registrars.

This FFM news release was sourced from:
www.famousfourmedia.com/2015/05/nearly-10-of-all-new-gtld-registrations-are-in-ffm-managed-registries/

Experts Discuss What’s in the DNA of a Successful gTLD?

With over 420 new gTLDs being launched in 2014, and about double that to come in the current round, it was timely for the European Domain Centre blog to ask ten leading experts “what’s in the DNA of a successful gTLD?”

Do successful new gTLDs share common traits ?
Is there a way to spot the success of future launches in the registration stats?
Why does .link get 50.000 registrations, when .direct only has 4.000 ?
What is it about the success of .club or .guru that other registries might have missed?

The experts asked were

Michele Neylon (Blacknight Solutions) who said the “key will be the content not the actual domains
Andy Churley (Famous Four Media) who questioned the success of .club whose domains have wholesaled for below $10
Jeff Sass (.CLUB Domains) who said “the greatest challenges every Registry faces are the ones of awareness and clutter” and “that in 2015 we’ll see stronger registry marketing efforts”
Joseph Peterson (Branding Consultant and Domain Investor) who echoed several others saying “success depends on perspective” and that “what truly counts is someone’s goal”. Peterson also thinks that “if .MOBILE were to proceed without restrictions, it might overtake .MOBI a decade from now. Words are simply more natural. So I’d anticipate poor results for truncated nTLDs such as .REST, .PHYSIO, .ONL, and .ARCHI. Indeed, .RESTAURANT has already eclipsed .REST.”
Pinky Brand who thinks relationships, trust and planning ahead are all key
Adrian Kinderis (ARI Registry Services) says one has to question the importance of numbers and that “while registrars and domainers care little about .brands, they will transform the way we use the Internet. And clearly, a mere count of the names registered under these TLDs will reveal little about the success of these namespaces”
Joe Alagna (101domain.com) gave six keys to a successful new gTLD:

1. let markets operate without too much interference.
2. foster trust amongst all stakeholders.
3. keep prices and rules simple and easy to understand.
4. follow established protocols.
5. are predictable and transparent.
6. promote aggressively while respecting their sales channels.

Ken Hansen (co.com) said keyword gTLDs, location gTLDs, passion and marketing are all key
Morgan Linton (Linton Investments) said “the team behind the registry and the string itself” are key
Rubens Kohl (nic.br) believes the key there must be relevance building for a new gTLD to be successful.

To read the full article and complete responses, go to:
blog.europeandomaincentre.com/new-years-expert-roundup-whats-in-the-dna-of-a-successful-gtld/

Famous Four Media nets $175,000 In .WEBCAM Premium Domain Sales

[news release] In a private deal, Famous Four Media has sold a package of 15 domain names to a single buyer. The deal, worth $175,000, was for adult oriented terms in the .WEBCAM registry

[news release] In a private deal, Famous Four Media has sold a package of 15 domain names to a single buyer. The deal, worth $175,000, was for adult oriented terms in the .WEBCAM registry.

âWe are delighted to conclude this deal so rapidly,â said Andy Churley, Chief Marketing Officer at Famous Four Media. âAgreeing a six figure cash deal so early in a registryâs life is a testament to the strength of the .WEBCAM suffix, the capability of the staff at Famous Four Media and the willingness of its broker network to collaborate.â

âThe .WEBCAM registry has a lot of appeal for premium name brokers like HuntingMoon.â Said Evan Horowitz, CEO and Founder of HuntingMoon âIt has been HuntingMoonâs privilege to coordinate this historic, biggest ever reported new TLD sale. The fact that we collaborated with several brokers, such as Media Options S.A and Domain Broker UK, to achieve this landmark sale, in a newly launched new gTLD registry, is a great indicator for the success of .WEBCAM.â

The premium name sale comprised fifteen domain names including tube.webcam, asian.webcam and milf.webcam brokered by Hunting Moon and fulfilled by SEDO.

âWe have always been confident that the .WEBCAM registry would have great appeal in a number of vertical and geographic marketsâ continued Churley âWe have seen growing interest in our premium names as our first 3 registries .WEBCAM, .TRADE and .BID approach launch. Ola Alli, Famous Four Mediaâs premium name manager did an excellent job in securing this historic deal. This means so much to the registry and is excellent news for the new gTLD program as a whole.â

About Famous Four Media

Famous Four Media Limited was set up in 2011 by a small group of recognized domain name experts and successful financiers to actively provide products and services to TLD Registry operators under ICANNâs new generic Top Level Domains (âgTLDâ) program.

The 54 gTLD applications, that are currently under Famous Four Media Limited management, include some of the most interesting and valuable domain suffixes, such as .ACCOUNTANT, .BID, .CRICKET, .DATE, .DOWNLOAD, .FAITH, .LOAN, .MEN, .PARTY, .RACING, .REVIEW, .SCIENCE, .TRADE, .WEBCAM and .WIN

About HuntingMoon

HuntingMoon was set up specifically to help connect domain name and business owners with potential trading partners. HuntingMoon invested heavily to create an easy-to-use platform for trading assets such as: Domain Names, Domain Portfolios, Businesses, Web Traffic, Design, Content and so many more products and services which has led to the company becoming one of the most successful domain name brokerages around.

About Sedo

Sedo is the leading domain marketplace and monetization provider worldwide. Headquartered in Cologne, Germany and with offices in London, England and Boston, USA, Sedo has assembled the worldâs largest database of domain names for sale with more than 18 million listings. The success of Sedoâs model has attracted a client base of more than 2 million domain professionals in 180 countries worldwide. The companyâs support team speaks 23 languages natively while its award-winning interactive marketplace seamlessly services client needs in six different languages. Sedo also has a full suite of services available for new gTLD applicants, including premium auctions in all application phases, marketing support, pricing, consulting and brokerage services to reach domain buyers globally. With more than 13 years of experience, Sedo is trusted by organizations and individuals around the globe as a neutral partner for buying, selling and parking domains.

Famous Four Media Wins .RACING and .CRICKET

Famous Four Media has announced they have acquired the .racing and .cricket gTLDs through private auction taking to 17 the number of gTLDs the registry will manage

Famous Four Media has announced they have acquired the .racing and .cricket gTLDs through private auction taking to 17 the number of gTLDs the registry will manage.

Famous Four Media is the registry operator for Domain Venture Partners, one of the largest portfolio applicants for new gTLDs.

âWe are delighted to have these great sporting and gaming registries under Famous Four Media managementâ said Andy Churley, Chief Marketing Officer at Famous Four Media. âThey both hold key characteristics which we look for in our registries, being that they each serve clear and determinable markets, those markets are of sufficient size to produce strong sales volumes and will drive significant premium pricing to service niche requirements of the market.â

Obviously FFM see great potential with their gTLDs.

âWith over 1.7 million people playing cricket in the UK alone and more than 100 member countries belonging to the International Cricket Council the sport has significant global reach. It is believed that when Indiaâs national side plays a big game, an estimated 400m in India watch on television. Thereâs a lot of passion about .CRICKET!â continues Churley âThat passion is rivalled by the racing fraternity whether itâs horses, cars, dogs, boats, planes, bikes or on foot. If you are involved in, a fan of, or associated with racing in any of its forms you will find a home online in .RACING.â

Domains that will become available include motor.racing and testmatch.cricket.

Sedo Seals Deals With Donuts, .UNO And Famous Four Media Over New gTLDs

Sedo is signing deals with several new gTLD applicants. In the past week the leading domain name aftermarket has announced a partnership to bring Donutsâ new domains to market, a partnership with Dot Latin LLC to introduce .uno and a partnership with Famous Four Media to bring at least some of the gTLDs they applied for to market

For Donuts, from the conclusion of their first sunrise period, Sedo will manage contention resolution for competing trademarked domains, and will also assist in auctioning premium names that will be reserved from general registration. Donuts will commence Sunrise periods in November 2013 and they will continue through the middle of 2014.

âThe launch of new gTLDs has been a long time coming and with such a large, historic expansion all at once, we expect strong demand after the gates are opened,â said Donuts co-founder and Executive Vice President Dan Schindler.Â âTo meet that demand, we needed a trusted partner, and Sedo is one of the oldest and most experienced companies in the domain industry.â

Dot Latin selected Sedo to conduct sunrise and landrush auctions, define a premium list of the extensionâs most valuable assets and provide brokerage and additional auctions for its premium domains.

The goal of .uno is to provide a gTLD that will globally connect and unite Hispanic and Latino communities, businesses, individuals and consumers. .UNO is designed for companies and marketers that want to provide information, products, and services directly to the Spanish-speaking marketplace.

âLatinos need a single domain extension they can rely upon to more easily find information online, and .UNO is the one that will help marketers and companies reach Hispanic consumer more directly,â said Shaul Jolles, CEO of Dot Latin LLC. âAs we bring .UNO to market, we looked for a partner that is experienced in the domain business and has a strong presence in Spanish speaking markets around the globe. Sedo uniquely fit those qualifications and was a natural partner to help us reach the largest audience of Hispanic consumers that will be excited to have their own place online.â

Famous Four Media applied for 57 new gTLDs and in the coming months will begin making 12 of these extensions available to the public, beginning with .bid, followed by .webcam, .trade, .accountant and .review. The remaining successful applications for gTLDs will be released at later dates.

âFamous Four Mediaâs portfolio of new gTLDs is widely regarded as one of the best in the industry,â said Tobias Flaitz, CEO at Sedo. âThey had the foresight to apply for a number of extensions that will clearly be useful and popular in the communities theyâre intended to serve. These are extensions that will be fun for us to work with â and ultimately for businesses and consumers to use â and weâre excited that Famous Four Media chose Sedo to help get them off the ground.â

âThe new gTLD programme has been years in the making and will soon become a reality on the internet,â said Andy Churley, Chief Marketing Officer, Famous Four Media. âWeâre really looking forward to seeing the creative ways companies and individuals will use the names weâre able to offer them. To ensure that its domain names find the right home, Famous Four Media only works with the very best providers, and Sedoâs experience and worldwide reach, makes it a natural fit.â