Domain Incite reported that the .blockbuster gTLD application completed its pre-delegation testing and may go live on the Internet in the next few days. It believes that if the delegation takes place, a dot-brand without a brand “will be among the most useless new gTLDs to hit the net.”
Blockbuster was the US’s largest video tape rental chain, which at its peak in 2004 had 9,000 rental stores and employed up to 60,000 people. However, the development of the Internet and new technology killed the video rental business. Blockbuster applied for bankruptcy in 2011 and was purchased by the TV satellite company Dish Network. Evidently, Dish had serious plans. It shut down the remaining rental stores and launched the Blockbuster on Demand streaming service and a package of Blockbuster @Home channels. In 2012, it applied to ICANN for a domain brand .Blockbuster (that does not allow outside registrations).
This application was approved at all stages and now is in technical testing mode. However, during this time Blockbuster on Demand was renamed Sling, аnd Blockbuster@Home – Dish Movie Pack. This is a stunning paradox. Blockbuster’s rental stores are closed, its website has not been updated since 2014 and Dish Network no longer offers services under its name. And yet the brand will shortly be at the cutting edge of online branding by having a new gTLD of its own – without a brand.
