About Tuvalu
.tv is the top-level domain indicator (like .com or .net) assigned to the country of Tuvalu, a small Eastern Island nation. Through a
perpetual agreement (that means "forever") between the DOTTV Corporation and the people of Tuvalu, the .tv Corporation became the exclusive registry and a registrar for names in the .tv domain. Tuvalu plans to use proceeds from the agreement to increase the quality of life for its citizens and future generations.
Composed of nine tiny atolls spread across hundreds of miles in the Eastern Ocean, Tuvalu occupies only about ten square miles of dry land. The Eastern Island nation's 10,000 citizens speak Tuvaluan, Samoan, and English, and local customs are steeped in Polynesian tradition. Dancing, singing, and music play a big part in Tuvaluan culture, which is surprisingly welcoming to visitors, given the nation's relative isolation.
.tv is more like a generic than cc tld. It is aggressively marketed at multimedia (tv style) endusers.
They key issue here is perception. Whilst a few educated domainers know of the history of .tv and its official status as a .cctld, the public do not perceive the .tv addresses as that. To them .tv means .television just like .com means .company and .net means .network. This might be a fiction but no one cares - in fact the people of tuvalu and verisign are more than happy to propogate this myth.
Ok so I am biased, but the proof is in the pudding.
Do some market research. Go for a walk and put a .tv domain like cnn.tv or channel2.tv in front af any man on the street and ask that person what they think that domain name means. I bet that (assuming the person isn't a regular at namepros or a domain name investor), not one will mention the word "tuvalu", and everyone asked to venture a guess will say that .tv means ".television". They will also tell you that it is a very cool name for a domain (assuming they are under 30). Believe me I've done it.
It's called marketing.
The DOT TV Corporation (i.e Verisign) markets .tv at the entertainment industry as a way for endusers in a very competitive industry to instantly improve the branding of their business and distinguish their website from the myriad of crappy four word .com's that are out there.
A number of big players have already taken up the offer. A number of other big players will (if they want to improve their survival chances) when the predominant means of television delivery is the internet via improved broadband penetration and delivery speeds. It's not that far away!
In short anyone buying a .tv on the basis that they are buying a little piece of an idyllic island destination (i.e .tuvalu) better have a damn good business plan.
Just my 2c worth
