Since I wrote last February on new domain extensions (gTLDs – general Top Level Domains), approximately 450 additional gTLDs have been launched. There are an additional 1000+ new gTLDs in various stages of approval and preparation for launch. With almost 10 months of history since my comments in February, combined with my continuing interest in this market, it seems like a good time to circle back a bit to the subject of gTLDs.

First, let’s look at stats for the new gTLDs that launched January 25, 2014, along with the “Big 3” of .com, .net, and .org:

The new gTLDs were 2.5 weeks old on February 11, 2011. Comparing current stats with those from then, we can easily observe:
1) the January 25 cohort of new gTLDs (.guru on down in the above table) have grown similarly, except for .guru which has outpaced the others in the cohort.
2) these new gTLDs have a long, long way to go before they substantially impact the overall domain registration count, which is dominated by .com.

Retail pricing of the January 25 new gTLD cohort is approximately $24-$42/name (at GoDaddy, a competitive vendor). Assuming wholesale prices are approximately the same, it seems clear that the new gTLD business (as a registry, the “manufacturer”) is not yet an unvarnished bonanza.

Nonetheless, there are some notable early “success” stories, namely the .club registry along with new gTLD applicants who have gone to the “shootout” at ICANN and walked away with $millions.  These subjects will be discussed in a future post.