Applying for a New TLD in Round 2? Here’s Why You Should Talk to the Brand Safety Alliance Now.

In just a few months, one of the biggest opportunities on the internet in the last decade opens up: applications for new Top-Level Domains (TLDs). If you’re planning to apply when the window opens on April 30, 2026, you are most likely already deep into your business planning – thinking through not just the technical and financial requirements, but how you’ll position your TLD for long-term success. 

Since ICANN first opened applications for new TLDs in 2012, more than 1,500 extensions have launched – most entering unchartered territory. Applicants became quickly adept at navigating policies, pricing models and operational processes that had never been tested at scale.  

Second round applicants, however, have the advantage of learning from what worked (and what didn’t) in that initial wave. 

Building Trust into Your TLD Strategy 

Amongst a long list of lessons from the first round, two critical areas emerged that second-round applicants should take to heart. 

First, the revenue opportunity from Sunrise periods - a required, but historically lucrative rights protection mechanism - almost uniformly underperformed. 

Brands increasingly opted out of Sunrise registrations, due to both the cumulative cost of protecting across hundreds of extensions and attempts by registries to leverage this priority access with unjustifiable pricing. What was designed as a brand protection tool ultimately gave IP owners fatigue. On top of their significant pre-existing frustration, this became an expensive burden many major brands now avoid. 

Second, registries that failed to manage abuse effectively paid a steep price. Namespaces with high levels of abuse saw declining registrant interest and reduced revenue over time. With abuse data now more public than ever, registries are increasingly named and shamed for poor security practices—eroding trust with potential registrants and raising concerns about search engine penalties that could affect viability across the entire namespace. 

With this, the operational burden compounds: disputes, takedown requests, and constant reputation management distract resources from a focus on growth. A namespace's health—its reliability, security, and trustworthiness—directly impacts both its appeal to legitimate registrants and its long-term viability. 

These lessons mean second-round applicants have a significant advantage: the knowledge to build brand protection into their operational strategy from day one, rather than treating it as an afterthought. 

Launched in 2022, the Brand Safety Alliance was created to listen to what brand and IP owners actually needed and build collaboration to develop practical and sustainable solutions.  

GlobalBlock, the world's largest domain blocking service, provides one centralized method to prevent unauthorized domain registrations at scale across more than 700 web extensions.  

For registries, this means a few things: immediate access to structured and reliable revenue, reduced brand abuse from day one, and building the right foundations for long-term success of your namespace. 

Getting Started 

If you're considering applying in the next round, you're no doubt working through complex decisions: what extension to apply for, how to avoid competition, how to position it in the market, and ultimately how to generate return on investment.  

The good news? There are proven strategies from first-round registries that you can build into your business plans right now. 

Hundreds of registries across more than 700 extensions have already partnered with the BSA to build brand protection into their operations. If you'd like to understand why they chose this approach—and how it can work for your application—reach out to us at hello@brandsafetyalliance.co to organize a time to meet via conference call.