.BBC New gTLD Application
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New gTLD Application Submitted to ICANN by: British Broadcasting Corporation
Application Downloaded On: 09 Jan 2014
String: BBC
Application ID: 1-981-86291
Applicant Information
- Full legal name
British Broadcasting Corporation
- Address of the principal place of business
Broadcasting House
Portland Place London - W1A 1AA GB
- Phone number
+44 208 743 8000
- Fax number
+44 208 008 1891
- If applicable, website or URL
Primary Contact
6(a). Name
Tristram Biggs
6(b). Title
R&D Executive (BBC R&D)
6(c). Address
6(d). Phone Number
+44 208 008 4775
6(e). Fax Number
+44 208 008 5090
6(f). Email Address
Secondary Contact
7(a). Name
Nicole Mason
7(b). Title
Client Project Manager
7(c). Address
7(d). Phone Number
+44 207 421 8274
7(e). Fax Number
7(f). Email Address
Proof of Legal Establishment
8(a). Legal form of the Applicant
Corporation incorporated by Royal Charter
8(b). State the specific national or other jurisdiction that defines the type of entity identified in 8(a).
United Kingdom
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.
N/A
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
Caroline Agnes Morgan Thomson Chief Operating Officer
Daniel Nicholas Cohen Director of Television
Fiona Claire Reynolds Non-Executive Director
George Edward Entwistle Director, BBC Vision
Helen Boaden Director, BBC News Group
Marcus Ambrose Agius Senior Independent Director
Mark John Thompson Director-General
Michael Lynch Non-Executive Director
Ralph Rivera Director, Future Media
Robert Stopford Webb Non-Executive Director
Sally M Davis Non-Executive Director
Simon Burke Non-Executive Director
Timothy Davie Director, Audio & Music
Zarin Homi Patel Chief Financial Officer
11(b). Name(s) and position(s) of all officers and partners
Name
Position
Caroline Agnes Morgan Thomson Chief Operating Officer
Fiona Claire Reynolds Non-Executive Director
George Edward Entwistle Director, BBC Vision
Helen Boaden Director, BBC News Group
Marcus Ambrose Agius Senior Independent Director
Mark John Thompson Director-General
Michael Lynch Non-Executive Director
Ralph Rivera Director, Future Media
Robert Stopford Webb Non-Executive Director
Sally M Davis Non-Executive Director
Simon Burke Non-Executive Director
Timothy Davie Director, Audio & Music
Zarin Homi Patel Chief Financial Officer
11(c). Name(s) and position(s) of all shareholders holding at least 15% of shares
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.
BBC
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.
As the applied-for gTLD string is not an IDN and is consistent with the requirements of the Applicant Guidebook Section 2.2.1.3.2 (String Requirements), the BBC does not believe there are any known operational or rendering problems concerning the string.
- 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.
The BBC is the worldʹs leading public service broadcaster. Its mission is to enrich peopleʹs lives with programmes that inform, educate and entertain.
Established by a Royal Charter in 1927, the BBC has six key public purposes:
- Sustaining citizenship and civil society
The BBC provides high-quality news, current affairs and factual programming to engage its viewers, listeners and users in important current and political issues.
- Promoting education and learning
The support of formal education in schools and colleges and informal knowledge and skills building outside of formal education contexts.
- Stimulating creativity and cultural excellence
Encouraging interest, engagement and participation in cultural, creative and sporting activities across the UK.
- Representing the UK, its nations, regions and communities
BBC viewers, listeners and users can rely on the BBC to reflect the many communities that exist in the UK.
- Bringing the UK to the world and the world to the UK
The BBC builds a global understanding of international issues and broadens UK audiencesʹ experience of different cultures.
- Delivering to the public the benefit of emerging communications technologies and services
Assisting people to get the best out of emerging media technologies both now and in the future.
As a Public Service Broadcaster, the BBC is funded by a licence fee paid by all UK television-viewing households. The BBC’s income from the licence fee funds its services, including 10 national TV channels plus regional programming, 10 national radio stations, 40 local radio stations and extensive website, online and on-demand services.
BBC World Service broadcasts to many countries around the world on radio, on TV and online, providing news and information in 27 languages as well as in English.
The BBC also has a number of commercial ventures, including BBC Worldwide and BBC World News, that make available BBC programming worldwide. Profits from these activities are returned to the BBC for investment in new programmes and services.
The BBCʹs Online services, predominantly offered through the BBC website at bbc.co.uk, offer a wide range of BBC programming, including news, sport, entertainment, weather, children’s programming and knowledge and learning.
The BBC website at bbc.co.uk has been developed to enable audience access on a variety of internet-connected devices, including tablets, smartphones and connected TVs, as well as computers.
The BBC’s website is also the place where audiences can access the BBC’s vast archive of radio and television programmes which are made available digitally and curated through the BBC iPlayer multi-platform for on-demand viewing.
In addition, the BBC offers an interactive television service, BBC Red Button, which provides audiences with a choice of content being broadcasted simultaneously, such as alternative tennis matches at Wimbledon, news headlines from the BBC News channel, or interactive games from the BBC’s children’s channel CBeebies.
The BBC is developing Online services to provide audiences with simple access to even more content on the latest internet-connected TVs to further deliver benefits of emerging technologies to the public.
The mission of a .BBC registry will be to enhance BBC Online services for its audiences in line with the BBC’s overall mission and public purposes by providing the BBC with a new technology platform for future innovation. Additionally the BBC registry is seeking to protect the integrity of the world famous BBC brand in the domain name system.
The purpose of a .BBC registry, which will be a standard registry as opposed to a community-based registry, is:
- To provide a new, stable, scaleable and secure platform for BBC Online services that is within the direct control of the BBC
- To keep the BBC at the forefront of internet technological developments
- To ensure that the integrity of the BBC brand is maintained. The BBC has a wide portfolio of registered intellectual property rights around the world and securing the term “BBC” in the domain name system is an extension of the BBC’s brand protection policies.
The global success of a .BBC registry will be judged in the long-term by the security, stability and innovation it brings to BBC audiences and users of BBC Online services and by the enhancement of the value in the BBC brand. The .BBC registry’s success will not be determined by the number of domains created or by income generated by registrations.
18B. How do you expect that your proposed gTLD will benefit registrants, Internet users, and others?
“How do you expect that your proposed gTLD will benefit registrants, internet users and others?”
The BBC anticipates that domains in the .BBC registry will not be issued for use by individuals but rather only operated by authorised representatives of the BBC. A .BBC registry will benefit BBC audiences at-large and specifically viewers, listeners and users of BBC Online content and services. Audiences will have access to the range of BBC Online services through the .BBC registry and it is anticipated that audiences will regard a .BBC domain as a sign of authenticity and quality of BBC Online services that can be trusted.
As the supply and distribution of .BBC domains will be strictly controlled, it is intended that the .BBC domains will be recognised as reliable signposts for access to BBC content and information.
- “What is the goal of your proposed gTLD in terms of areas of speciality, service levels or reputation?”
The BBC believes it will be very beneficial to operate its own registry with shorter domain names that are universally applicable across the globe. The potential a .BBC registry offers for enhancing communication with BBC audiences is of importance to the BBC and consistent with the BBC’s overall mission and purpose.
The .BBC domain is a distinctive label that will become part of the overall BBC brand, and the BBC plans to utilise the .BBC domain in conjunction with its current portfolio of BBC domain names.
- “What do you anticipate your proposed gTLD will add to the current space in terms of competition, differentiation or innovation?”
Currently there are no gTLD registries dedicated to brand owners. The BBC values the opportunity of being amongst the first media organisations to apply for such dedicated brands.
The BBC expects that a .BBC gTLD will improve ease and access for the millions of people who use BBC Online services every day, and will identify and differentiate BBC content and services online.
The BBC also believes a .BBC gTLD will help fulfil the BBC’s mission and purpose of informing, educating and entertaining the public and delivering the benefit of emerging communications technologies and services.
- “What goals does your proposed gTLD have in terms of user experience?”
The BBC’s goals in terms of user experience are to have second level .BBC domain names that allow users direct access to BBC content and Online services in a stable, secure, scalable and trusted environment. We expect in the future that BBC audiences will benefit from using second-level .BBC domain names to access a full range of BBC Online services.
The BBC has significant experience in managing its portfolio of domain names via its corporate domain registrar. The BBC will ensure that enquiries regarding .BBC domains in our registry and our domain name policies will be managed in a timely fashion according to documented BBC procedures and industry best practice.
- “Provide a complete description of the applicant’s intended registration policies in support of the goals above”
The BBC Internet Domains Steering Group (IDSG), chaired by the BBC Domain Manager, is responsible for the development, maintenance and enforcement of the .BBC Registry Domain Management Policy (DMP). This policy defines the rules associated with eligibility and domain name allocation, sets out the terms governing the use of a .BBC domain name, and describes the dispute resolution policies for the .BBC TLD. This policy is intended to be updated and revised regularly to reflect the BBC’s strategic plans, public interest, industry best practice and, where appropriate, ICANN consensus policies. The policy is summarised below and subject to change as appropriate.
Registration of a .BBC domain name will be undertaken in four steps: Eligibility Confirmation, Naming Convention Check, Acceptable Use Review, and finally Registration.
All domains in the .BBC registry will remain the property of the BBC and will, subject to the .BBC Registry DMP and the BBC Domain Manager’s approval, be available to users of BBC divisions, departments and⁄or subsidiaries for a period of between 1 year and 10 years.
Checks will be undertaken to ensure that all applied for character strings conform to the BBC Naming Conventions. Each applied for A-label character string must:
- Be at least 1 character and no more than 63 characters long
- Not contain a hyphen on the 3rd and 4th position (except for IDNs)
- Contain only letters (a-z), numbers (0-9) and hyphens or a combination of these
- Start and end with an alphanumeric character, not a hyphen
- Not match any character strings reserved by ICANN
- Be checked against the Trademark Clearinghouse
- Not match any protected country names or territory names identified in the internationally recognized lists set forth in Specification 5 to the ICANN New gTLD Agreement, unless the BBC reaches agreement regarding release of such names with the applicable government or pursuant to a proposal reviewed by the ICANN Governmental Advisory Committee and approved by ICANN.
Internationalized domain names (IDN) may be supported in the .BBC registry at the second level.
Domains must be used solely for purposes that enhance the strategic goals of the BBC.
.BBC domains must not be registered or used in a way which knowingly infringes any third-party intellectual property rights.
A .BBC registration must be an acceptable term that will not give rise to any moral or public order questions or in any way damage the strategic interests or reputation of the BBC.
All .BBC domains will carry accurate and up to date registration records.
The .BBC registry will be ICANN compliant, interface with the Trademark Clearinghouse, operate a Sunrise and IP Claims process and enforce that all registrants comply with the UDRP and the URS processes.
- “Will your proposed gTLD impose any measures for protecting the privacy of confidential information of registrants or users?”
As the .BBC registry will be operated within the United Kingdom, all data will be processed in conformity with the European Union’s and United Kingdom’s 1998 Data Protection Act and any other applicable Data Protection requirements.
The BBC will comply with the Personal Data obligations set forth in Section 2.10 of the Registry Agreement.
“Describe whether and in what ways outreach and communications will help to achieve your projected benefits?”
The .BBC registry will be closed to third parties and will be for use only by authorised representatives of BBC.
Outreach and communications appropriate to the operation of a .BBC registry in which the brand owner is the registrant of all second-level domain names will be undertaken to ensure that .BBC domains are issued and used in accordance with the BBC’s mission and purposes. For example, guidelines and policy statements will be produced and published defining how the .BBC domain will be used.
To assist BBC audiences and users of BBC Online services to understand that .BBC domains are for BBC Online services and are genuine and can be trusted, the BBC intends to create a home page for the registry with clear messaging and an audience enquiry process.
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?
“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?”
The BBC will ensure that the .BBC registry is set-up in line with the BBC’s mission and purpose, managed in accordance with BBC domain name policies and procedures, and that the registration of names within the .BBC registry is restricted to authorised representatives of the BBC. This will eliminate or significantly minimize social costs and negative consequences on consumers.
- “How will multiple applications for a particular domain be resolved, for example, by auction or on a first come first served basis?”
The .BBC registry will be closed to third-parties, and there will therefore be no market in .BBC domains. We will not receive multiple applications for a particular domain and so there will be no need for any resolution.
- “Explain any cost benefits for registrants you intend to implement (e.g. advantageous pricing, introductory discounts, bulk registration discounts).”
As all .BBC domain names will be registered to the BBC (or its wholly owned subsidiaries) there will be no cost benefits for registrants.
- “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 10 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?”
The BBC IDSG will set the period of registration for .BBC domains. The BBC is making an application for the .BBC gTLD to support its mission and strategic goals and to protect the BBC brand, not to generate revenues from selling domains. All .BBC domains will be registered to the BBC (or under BBC Fair Trading guidelines, to its wholly-owned commercial subsidiaries) and therefore issues around pricing including price escalation are not relevant and contractual commitments will not be necessary. That aside, the BBC will comply with the provisions of Section 2.10 of the Registry Agreement.
Before launching the .BBC registry, BBC will develop and publish its policies and guidelines, setting out full details of how the registry will implement its vision and purpose as set out in this answer. BBC may adapt its policies and proposed use of the .BBC registry, in a manner consistent with the BBC’s public purposes, to reflect changes in its business and the adoption of new gTLDs by the community.