The top-level domain (TLD) “.bloomberg” is a brand domain, specifically registered for Bloomberg L.P.. As a leading global business, financial information and news provider, Bloomberg uses this domain primarily for its own business operations.
This kind of private TLD is also known as a Dot Brand. In the last decade, hundreds of companies, from Google to BMW, have applied for and registered their own personalized pieces of Internet real estate. These custom TLDs allow brands to consolidate and manage all their domains under one overarching, brand-specific name, helping to improve site organization and user navigation, increase brand visibility, and potentially offer a measure of online security.
Bloomberg L.P was founded by Michael Bloomberg in 1981. As a software, data, and media company that provides financial software tools such as an analytics and equity trading platform, data services, and news to financial companies and organizations. The company’s diversified businesses include radio, cable television, and subscription-based services.
The company uses this .bloomberg domain to create a unified web presence across its multiple business units and to increase brand visibility. For example, domains like “news.bloomberg” or “markets.bloomberg” group their respective services under the Bloomberg brand name and make it easy for users to navigate to them.
Such brand TLDs became possible thanks to the decision of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in 2012 to expand the number of generic TLDs. Up to then, most websites were relegated to using .com, .org, .net, or a country-specific top-level domain name like .co.uk for United Kingdom or .fr for France. But with the unanimous vote of ICANN’s board, the internet’s naming system expanded dramatically, with over 1,400 new “strings” becoming available for purchase, including hundreds of brand-specific names like .google, .apple, or .bloomberg.
To get a domain like .bloomberg, the company had to apply with ICANN during a specified application window, as well as pass a rigorous evaluation process, including demonstrating legitimate legal claim to the name, proving they have the technical capacity to run a domain, and paying a significant application fee.
Sources that were used to construct the answer includes ICANN’s official website, which provides detailed information about TLDs, including the .bloomberg domain, and Bloomberg’s official website, offering an overview of the company and its services.
Relevant Sources:
- ICANN: https://www.icann.org/
- Bloomberg L.P: https://www.bloomberg.com/company/
