.CBS New gTLD Application
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New gTLD Application Submitted to ICANN by: CBS Domains Inc.
Application Downloaded On: 23 Jun 2015
String: CBS
Application ID: 1-869-11721
Applicant Information
- Full legal name
CBS Domains Inc.
- Address of the principal place of business
51 West 52nd Street New York, New York - 10019 US
- Phone number
+1 212 975 3610
- Fax number
+1 212 975 0114
- If applicable, website or URL
Primary Contact
6(a). Name
Rebecca Borden
6(b). Title
Director
6(c). Address
6(d). Phone Number
(212) 975-3610
6(e). Fax Number
null
6(f). Email Address
Secondary Contact
7(a). Name
Philip Lodico
7(b). Title
Managing Partner
7(c). Address
7(d). Phone Number
+1 202 223 9252
7(e). Fax Number
+1 202 204 5205
7(f). Email Address
Proof of Legal Establishment
8(a). Legal form of the Applicant
Corporation
8(b). State the specific national or other jurisdiction that defines the type of entity identified in 8(a).
Virginia, United States of America
8(c). Attach evidence of the applicant's establishment.
Attachments are not displayed on this form.
9(a). If applying company is publicly traded, provide the exchange and symbol.
9(b). If the applying entity is a subsidiary, provide the parent company.
CBS Corporation
9(c). If the applying entity is a joint venture, list all joint venture partners.
Applicant Background
11(a). Name(s) and position(s) of all directors
Name
Position
Louis Briskman Director
Rebecca Borden Director
11(b). Name(s) and position(s) of all officers and partners
11(c). Name(s) and position(s) of all shareholders holding at least 15% of shares
Name
Position
CBS Corporation Not Applicable
11(d). For an applying entity that does not have directors, officers, partners, or shareholders: Name(s) and position(s) of all individuals having legal or executive responsibility
Applied-for gTLD string
- Provide the applied-for gTLD string. If an IDN, provide the U-label.
CBS
14A. If applying for an IDN, provide the A-label (beginning with "xn--").
14B. If an IDN, provide the meaning, or restatement of the string in English, that is, a description of the literal meaning of the string in the opinion of the applicant.
14C1. If an IDN, provide the language of the label (in English).
14C2. If an IDN, provide the language of the label (as referenced by ISO-639-1).
14D1. If an IDN, provide the script of the label (in English).
14D2. If an IDN, provide the script of the label (as referenced by ISO 15924).
14E. If an IDN, list all code points contained in the U-label according to Unicode form.
15A. If an IDN, upload IDN tables for the proposed registry. An IDN table must include:
the applied-for gTLD string relevant to the tables,
the script or language designator (as defined in BCP 47),
table version number,
effective date (DD Month YYYY), and
contact name, email address, and phone number.
Submission of IDN tables in a standards-based format is encouraged.
15B. Describe the process used for development of the IDN tables submitted, including consultations and sources used.
15C. List any variants to the applied-for gTLD string according to the relevant IDN tables.
- Describe the applicant's efforts to ensure that there are no known operational or rendering problems concerning the applied-for gTLD string. If such issues are known, describe steps that will be taken to mitigate these issues in software and other applications.
CBS Domains Inc. anticipates the introduction of this .CBS gTLD without operational or rendering problems. Based on a decade of experience launching and operating new TLDs, Afilias Limited (ʺAfiliasʺ) the back-end provider of registry services for the .CBS gTLD, is confident the launch and operation of this gTLD presents no known challenges. The rationale for this opinion includes:
-The string is not complex and is represented in standard ASCII characters and follows relevant technical, operational and policy standards;
-The string length is within lengths currently supported in the root and by ubiquitous Internet programs such as web browsers and mail applications;
-There are no new standards required for the introduction of the .CBS gTLD;
-No onerous requirements are being made on registrars, registrants or Internet users, and;
-The existing secure, stable and reliable Afilias SRS, DNS, WHOIS and supporting systems and staff are amply provisioned and prepared to meet the needs of the .CBS gTLD.
- OPTIONAL.
Provide a representation of the label according to the International Phonetic Alphabet (http://www.langsci.ucl.ac.uk/ipa/).
18A. Describe the mission/purpose of your proposed gTLD.
18.1 Mission and Purpose of .CBS
The intended mission and purpose of the .CBS gTLD is to serve as a trusted, virtual platform to offer CBS Corporation and its qualified subsidiaries’ and affiliates’ content to global audiences, while also deepening and broadening relationships with those audiences. CBS Corporation has created a wholly owned subsidiary, CBS Domains Inc. (“CBS Domains”), as the entity to file this application and bring the .CBS gTLD to market.
CBS Corporation intends that as its online strategy evolves, so will its strategy for use of the .CBS gTLD. CBS Corporation is a leading mass media company with operations that include the following segments:
-ENTERTAINMENT: The Entertainment segment is composed of the CBS® Television Network; CBS Television Studios; CBS Studios International; CBS Television Distribution; CBS Films®; and CBS Interactive. Its premium television programs include the three CSI series, NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, The Good Wife, Hawaii 5-0, along with CBS Evening News and the award-winning 60 Minutes. CBS Interactive operates one of the leading global publishers of premium content on the Internet. CBS Interactive’s worldwide content reached approximately 246 million unique monthly visitors, during December 2011, according to Score Media Metrix, December 2011. It operates well-known websites including: CBS.com, CBSNews.com, CBSSports.com, CNet.com, and GameSpot.com. In particular, CNet.com is one of the preeminent websites for technology and consumer electronics information, and features news, reviews, downloads, and instructional and entertaining video and audio shows about technology.
-CABLE NETWORKS: The Cable Networks segment is composed of Showtime® Networks, the Companyʹs premium subscription program services; CBS Sports Network®, the Companyʹs cable network devoted to college athletics; and Smithsonian Networks™, a venture between Showtime Networks and the Smithsonian Institution, which operates Smithsonian Channel™, a basic cable program service.
-PUBLISHING: The Publishing segment is composed of Simon & Schuster, which publishes and distributes consumer books under imprints such as Simon & Schuster®, Pocket Books®, Scribner®, and FreePress™. Its award-winning and best-selling books include Steve Jobs by Walter Issacson; A Stolen Life, by Jaycee Dugard; and 11⁄22⁄63 by Stephen King.
-LOCAL BROADCASTING: The Local Broadcasting segment is composed of CBS Television Stations, the companyʹs 29 owned broadcast television stations; and CBS Radio®, through which the Company owns and operates 130 radio stations in 28 United States markets, including iconic radio stations such as WCBS, KCBS, and KROQ.
-OUTDOOR: The Outdoor segment displays advertising on media, including billboards, transit shelters, buses, rail systems (in-car, station platforms, and terminals), mall kiosks, retail stores, and stadium signage principally through CBS Outdoor®.
CBS Domains intends to initially limit registration and use of domain names within the .CBS gTLD to CBS Corporation and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates. This initial limited use will allow CBS Domains to establish its operations and achieve full sustainability. This limited distribution coupled with the other requirements set forth in Specification 9 of the template Registry Agreement is intended to exempt CBS Domains from its annual Code of Conduct Compliance requirements.
After Stage 3 (see below), CBS Corporation will evaluate whether opportunities exist to carry out the business strategy for the gTLD through expansion that continues the sustainable operations of the registry through fee-based registrations to parties other than CBS Corporation and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates.
CBS Domains currently plans a four-stage rollout for the .CBS gTLD:
- Stage 1
The initial stage of implementation of the gTLD will involve CBS Corporation registering a limited number of .CBS second-level domain names. This initial use will provide CBS Corporation’s IT and security personnel the time to run a number of tests to ensure seamless and secure access using the .CBS gTLD domain names, interoperability with various software and Web-based applications, and unbroken and secure use of all names. This initial allocation will also allow the appropriate CBS Domains staff to coordinate with the internal and external staff responsible for the delegation and setup phases of the .CBS gTLD to ensure a proper transition from delegation to full operation.
- Stage 2
Once all testing has been successfully completed, CBS Domains will likely begin allocating domain names in the .CBS gTLD for more widespread internal corporate use at CBS Corporation. During this same time period, CBS Corporation will begin evaluating strategies to potentially migrate traffic to CBS Domains’ new gTLDs, .CBS and .SHOWTIME.
It is in Stage 2 that CBS Corporation will evaluate expanding the operations of the .CBS gTLD to potentially permit registration by other registrants, such as select licensees or strategic partners. Should an assessment of its expansion strategy lead to a decision to extend registration rights to other parties, this expansion is currently planned to take place in Stage 3. However, any expansion would be conditioned upon a review of Specification 9 (Registry Code of Conduct) set forth in the template Registry Agreement to ensure compliance with CBS Domains’ business model.
- Stage 3
Depending on the analysis of the evaluations undertaken in Stage 2, CBS Corporation may begin to implement the migration of Internet traffic toward the new CBS Domains gTLDs, .CBS and .SHOWTIME. It is in this stage that CBS Domains also may implement CBS Corporation’s decision to extend registration rights to licensees or strategic parties, depending upon compliance with Specification 9, as noted above. The dates of any such expansion are subject to change depending upon business, strategic, and industry factors at the time.
After consideration of the following factors: analysis of CBS Corporation’s existing domain name portfolio; internal analysis of marketing initiatives; and the fact that CBS Corporation will have full control over the number of registrations in the .CBS gTLD namespace, CBS Domains is confident that the number of domain name registrations will be less than 10,000 in the first five years of operation.
- Stage 4
Based on their experience with any expansion implemented in Stage 3, CBS Domains and CBS Corporation will assess whether their business plan and expansion strategy should be augmented by extending registration rights to a broader class of licensees. It is anticipated by CBS Corporation that changes to the domain name industry, and particularly the impact of .BRAND gTLDs, will take at least five years to be realized and assessed. Any decision to expand the gTLDs beyond corporate, qualified subsidiary⁄affiliate, and licensee⁄partner use will take into account this experience as well as the technical analysis of potential expansion.
CBS Corporation intends to use the .CBS gTLD in ways that are consistent with its business as identified in its annual report and investor filings, see http:⁄⁄investors.cbscorporation.com.
Utilizing current projections based upon CBS Corporation’s existing businesses, business plans, current domain name portfolio, and other strategic factors, CBS Corporation estimates second-level domain name registrations to be in line with the projections set forth in the financial template provided in response to Question 46 of this application.
18B. How do you expect that your proposed gTLD will benefit registrants, Internet users, and others?
18.2 How do you expect that your proposed gTLD will benefit registrants, Internet users, and others?
Given that many consumers search for CBS Corporation and its subsidiaries’ content online, CBS Corporation believes that the proposed .CBS gTLD has the potential to offer the following benefits to Internet users and consumers:
-Provide a trusted online marketplace for the hundreds of millions of consumers that use CBS Corporation’s services;
-Provide CBS Corporation and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates with the use of short and memorable Internet addresses in order to facilitate increased ease for navigation to CBS online content and other services;
-Minimize the need for defensive registrations because domain names within the .CBS gTLD will only be registered by CBS Domains to verified CBS Corporation administrators and qualified subsidiaries and affiliates of CBS Corporation, at least for the first three years of operation; and
-Serve as a secure platform for the distribution of copyrighted material to consumers.
Also, through the adoption of new gTLDs by the wider Internet user community, consumers may benefit from lower incidents of fraud, misdirection, infringement, phishing, malware, or other scams often associated with mistypes of domain names in the .COM space that are owned by cybersquatters, since they will be navigating to domain names in the .CBS gTLD.
In addition, CBS Corporation currently operates a number of websites using a combination of second-level and top-level domain names. A representative sampling of CBS Corporation’s websites that incorporate geographical identifiers into domain names include:
-CBSNewYork.com
-CBSBoston.com
-CBSChicago.com
-CBSSeattle.com
-GameSpot-China.com
-ZDNetMexico.com
CBS Corporation believes that a .CBS gTLD can provide an online single source-identifying location for its current and future customers and licensees around the world, enhancing and supplementing its current brand and the geographic-specific domain names that CBS Corporation has used in different markets around the world.
18.2.1 What is the goal of your proposed gTLD in terms of areas of specialty, service levels, or reputation?
The primary mission and purpose of the .CBS gTLD is to provide a trusted, virtual platform to aggregate CBS Corporation’s already well-known and prestigious content and other goods and services. As technologies for delivering content and services evolve, CBS Corporation pursues opportunities to distribute its content and services to consumers in the U.S. on various platforms, including the Internet, mobile devices, and video-on-demand as well as internationally, through its licensees. As noted above, CBS Corporation intends to use the .CBS gTLD as a virtual platform to offer its content and to deepen and broaden its relationship with audiences and viewers.
Most importantly, the CBS Corporation content and services will be provided in an online namespace devoid of fraud, misdirection, infringement, phishing, malware, and other scams. While CBS Corporation fights to protect its valuable intellectual property from piracy on the Internet, it would use the .CBS gTLD to offer to consumers a safe and intuitive means of accessing authorized content from CBS Corporation and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates.
18.2.2 What do you anticipate your proposed gTLD will add to the current space, in terms of competition, differentiation, or innovation?
As a .BRAND gTLD, the primary factors driving CBS Corporation to seek the .CBS gTLD are differentiation and innovation. CBS Corporation is a leading global media company that uses existing technology and leverages emerging technologies to deliver content and services to its consumers internationally. A .CBS gTLD has the potential to serve as a cornerstone of this online strategy. The success of the gTLD will be measured by the level of consumer recognition and trust that is placed in the .CBS gTLD, not by the number of domain names that are registered. Using this benchmark, CBS Domains strives to build consumer recognition and trust that rise to the level of that found in the .EDU and .GOV gTLDs.
18.2.3 What goals does your proposed gTLD have in terms of user experience?
In addition to providing consumers with short, memorable, and intuitive domain names, CBS Corporation will minimize potential fraud, misdirection, infringement, phishing, malware, and other scams because domains will only be registered to CBS Corporation and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates, at least for the first three years of operation. CBS Domains believes that the .CBS gTLD will create a trusted ecosystem for the hundreds of millions of consumers worldwide who use its content, goods, and services.
18.2.4 Provide a complete description of the applicant’s intended registration policies in support of the goals listed above.
CBS Domains will incorporate all required ICANN consensus policies and other legal⁄policy requirements imposed on new gTLD applicants into the terms and conditions of the domain name registration agreement that each subsidiary or affiliate will execute.
Because the domains within the .CBS gTLD are currently intended to be exclusively registered to CBS Corporation and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates, any registration and use requirements are more appropriately vested in the corporate-subsidiary and corporate-affiliate agreements, or corporate policies and practices, and not in any domain name registration agreement.
18.2.5 Will your proposed gTLD impose any measures for protecting the privacy or confidential information of registrants or users? If so, please describe any such measures.
CBS Corporation has a vested interest in making sure that accurate and current domain name information is readily available in connection with each .CBS domain name. For the .CBS gTLD, all private and confidential information will be protected in accordance with laws.
CBS Domains will ensure that the operation of the .CBS gTLD will be consistent with CBS Corporation’s Statement of Privacy Principles, available here: http:⁄⁄www.cbscorporation.com⁄page.php?id=228.
In addition, CBS Domains intends to incorporate contractual language in its Registry-Registrar Agreement (RRA) modeled after language that has been included in the template Registry Agreement and that has been successfully utilized by existing ICANN gTLD Registry Operators.
The template Registry Agreement states, “Registry Operator shall (i) notify each ICANN-accredited registrar that is a party to the registry-registrar agreement for the TLD of the purposes for which data about any identified or identifiable natural person (“Personal Data”) submitted to Registry Operator by such registrar is collected and used under this Agreement or otherwise and the intended recipients (or categories of recipients) of such Personal Data, and (ii) require such registrar to obtain the consent of each registrant in the TLD for such collection and use of Personal Data. Registry Operator shall take reasonable steps to protect Personal Data collected from such registrar from loss, misuse, unauthorized disclosure, alteration or destruction. Registry Operator shall not use or authorize the use of Personal Data in a way that is incompatible with the notice provided to registrars.ʺ
18.2.6 Describe whether and in what ways outreach and communications will help to achieve your projected benefits.
CBS Domains plans to start using .CBS domains primarily as redirects to existing .COM domains and other domains it currently operates. CBS Corporation plans to monitor consumer and business reaction to and use of new .BRAND gTLDs. As the marketplace evolves, CBS Corporation will invest in outreach and communication as needed to ensure that its consumers continue to interact with CBS content in a simplified and efficient manner.
18C. What operating rules will you adopt to eliminate or minimize social costs (e.g., time or financial resource costs, as well as various types of consumer vulnerabilities)? What other steps will you take to minimize negative consequences/costs imposed upon consumers?
18.3. What operating rules will you adopt to eliminate or minimize social costs (e.g., time or financial resource costs, as well as various types of consumer vulnerabilities)?
CBS Domainsʹ proposed operating rules to limit registration to CBS Corporation and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates will provide a trusted online environment for consumers of CBS Corporation’s content, goods, and services. Therefore, CBS Domains will minimize social costs by eliminating the need for third-party brand owners to defensively register their trademark in the .CBS gTLD, unlike other open registries. In addition, the .CBS gTLD will provide consumers with a trusted source for CBS Corporation’s content, goods, and services without the risk of fraud, misdirection, infringement, phishing, malware, and other scams that consumers are plagued with in .COM and other open gTLDs.
18.3.1 What other steps will you take to minimize negative consequences⁄costs imposed upon consumers?
CBS Domains believes that the proposed operation of the .CBS gTLD as set forth in this application has no known negative consequences or cost implications to consumers. On the contrary, the proposed operation of this registry will likely lead to consumer benefits.
18.3.2 How will multiple applications for a particular domain name be resolved, for example, by auction or on a first-come⁄first serve basis?
CBS Domains does not envision multiple applicants for the same domain name, as domain names will only be registered to CBS Corporation and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates, at least for the first three years of operation.
18.3.3 Explain any cost benefits for registrants you intend to implement (e.g., advantageous pricing, introductory discounts, bulk registration discounts).
CBS Domains does not envision any advantageous pricing, introductory discounts, or bulk registration discounts because it will not be marketing or creating commercial initiatives for the sale of .CBS domain names. Its intention is to use the gTLD as a recognizable, trusted virtual platform offering CBS Corporation and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates’ content, goods, and services.
18.3.4 Note that the Registry Agreement requires that registrars be offered the option to obtain initial domain name registrations for periods of one to ten years at the discretion of the registrar, but no greater than ten years. Additionally, the Registry Agreement requires advance written notice of price increases. Do you intend to make contractual commitments to registrants regarding the magnitude of price escalation? If so, please describe your plans.
CBS Domains is committed to providing the domain name registration periods set forth in the Registry Agreement. As a .BRAND gTLD, the use of any .CBS domain names is conditioned upon a subsidiary or affiliate relationship with CBS Corporation. Therefore, there is a natural incentive for CBS Domains to provide domain names with minimal price escalations and the maximum flexibility in domain registration terms possible under ICANN rules. Understanding the ownership of .CBS domains as noted previously, contractual commitments in a domain name registrant agreement regarding the magnitude of price escalations is not relevant or appropriate. That said, the .CBS domain agreements will be in accordance with all ICANN requirements.
CBS Domains acknowledges that the current template Registry Agreement requires that the Registry Operator “shall offer registrars the option to obtain registration periods for one to ten years at the discretion of the registrar.” However, CBS Corporation and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates, as the sole registrants within the .CBS gTLD, will only be registering domain names on an annual basis. This is done to better account for costs on an annual basis as well as to provide for more concise financial statements in Question 46, i.e., no multi-year registration or deferred revenue.