Two three-applicant contention sets are resolved.
The .green and .wedding new top level domain name contention sets have been resolved in private auctions.
It’s unclear which company won the .green auction as applications have not yet been withdrawn. However, Top Level Domain Holdings (Minds + Machines) announced today it was on the losing end of that auction.
It used the proceeds from losing .green to spend millions on .wedding. After accounting for the proceeds of .green and a refund from ICANN for withdrawing its .green application, Top Level Domain Holdings paid $2.23 million for .wedding.
It bested rival applicants Donuts and What Box for .wedding.
As for .green, either Afilias or Rightside took home the prize in what I bet was also a $2 million+ auction. DotGreen Community, the most vocal applicant for .green, bowed out previously after spending a lot of its funds ahead of contention set resolution.
With a global market of over $300 bn and $40 bn just for N America, it looks like Top Level Domain Holdings have made a great strategic play with .Wedding.
I don’t like .wedding that much – it’s going to be too expensive for mass success JMO
Renewal rates will be pretty low I’d think.
With a $300 bn plus global industry, people will want to retain their piece of the pie, hence renewals should be secure from the commercial sector.
I can see a trend shift towards securing personal domains for individual events which may or may not want to be remembered.
Divorvce rates may nullify some renewals and initiate new registrations for those wanting another pop at the matrimony game 😉
Its a massive industry.
Yes, the companies will renew. The question is the couples that get married.
.Wed wants to shift second level registrants to third level ones after they get married. Not sure if that will work. If you want to keep renewals, you might offer services on top of the domain. In .wed’s case, they actually want you not to renew to free the domains up for other couples.
i can’t see the demand really. its not like joeandmarywedding.com is typically taken or in high demand. they are going to have to rely heavily on marketing this one.
The demand from the commercial sector alone at a massive $300 bn plus industry will be enough to make .Wedding a runaway success and with the more assured renewal rates expected.
The personal use domains will be additional, hence less crucial albeit another potentially massive revenue stream
Obviously the argument around renewal expectations is less defined.
Will registrars clue in that firstnameANDfirstname might be for a wedding, and they should show a .wedding and .wed domain? Will be interesting to see.