The top-level domain (TLD) “.TV” is the Internet country code for the island nation of Tuvalu, located in the south Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and Australia. The .TV TLD is allocated by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) which is responsible for the global coordination of the DNS root, IP addressing, and other Internet protocol resources.
However, the .TV extension is now highly popular among television networks, video sharing platforms, and streaming websites due to the obvious association with the term “TV”, shorthand for television. A few examples using this TLD include www.twitch.tv, an American streaming service particularly popular among the gaming community, as well as www.bloomberg.tv, the online hub for Bloomberg’s global television broadcast.
Tuvalu has provided a unique case of the commercialization of TLDs. In the late 1990s, Tuvalu negotiated a contract with a company named DotTV, a VeriSign company, which gained commercial rights to the .TV domain. This deal led to considerable income for the small nation, propelling it into unexpected online fame. A government press release from Tuvalu in 2001 reported a payment of $50 million for the rights to .TV.
However, earning revenue off top-level domains has its limitations. Not all sell well (indeed, Tuvalu’s .TV is among the few country TLDs to have done so), and revenues can be volatile, often dependent on the potentially changing trends of the internet world.
While arguments exist about the degree to which such domain name sales benefit the countries involved, it is clear that in Tuvalu’s case the .TV deal was a significant part of the island’s income. Credence to this fact can be found in a BBC article titled “The Islands that change the world” published in 2012, stating that the revenue from the .TV domain deal accounted for 10% of the government’s total revenue.
It is also noteworthy that the success of the .TV domain has had unexpected consequences for Tuvalu. High demand for the .TV domain increased global awareness of Tuvalu’s existence and led to increased tourism. Yet, it should be mentioned that unrestrained commercial use of .TV can contribute to cultural appropriations, as Tim Fawns, a lecturer in medical education at the University of Edinburgh, discussed in his piece, “Digital Culture Clash: ‘Massive’ Education in the E-learning and Digital Cultures MOOC.”
In conclusion, the .TV TLD is a unique example of the potential value and influence of internet naming conventions in a digital age. Having moved beyond the expected use of establishing geographic third-level domains, it has opened up new economic opportunities while simultaneously raising important questions about digital identities and cultural appropriation.
Sources:
Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). (n.d.). .tv – Tuvalu.
BBC. (2012). The Islands that change the world.
Government of Tuvalu. (2001). Government press release.
Fawns, T. (2013). Digital Culture Clash: ‘Massive’ Education in the E-learning and Digital Cultures MOOC.
