SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun. 11, 2012-- Demand Media® (NYSE: DMD) today announced that it is pursuing new generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) as part of ICANN’s (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) expansion of the Internet domain name space.
“We believe the new gTLD program represents a significant milestone in the evolution of the Internet,” said
Richard Rosenblatt
, chairman and CEO, Demand Media. “In addition to delivering more choice for consumers and business owners, we expect the domain name expansion to spur innovation and new business opportunities.”
Demand Media is pursuing a diverse portfolio of gTLD names intended to help bring millions of digital destinations to life. Guided by a proprietary, data-driven methodology, the company selected gTLD names in categories connected to an extremely broad range of interests and capabilities including: ecommerce, personal & professional identity, education, entertainment, internet life, sports, small business and social media.
As part of this initiative, Demand Media has applied for 26 names on a stand-alone basis. In addition, Demand Media has entered into a strategic arrangement with Donuts Inc., an Internet domain name registry founded by industry veterans, through which it may acquire rights in certain gTLDs after they have been awarded to Donuts by ICANN. These rights are shared equally with Donuts and are associated with 107 gTLDs for which Donuts is the applicant. Further, as previously announced, a subsidiary of Demand Mediahas been selected as the technical registry operator for both Demand Media and Donuts.
“The gTLDs we seek naturally reflect and organize the world around us and will help consumers more seamlessly discover and connect with the people, information and organizations of importance to them,” said
Taryn Naidu
, executive vice president,Demand Media. Donuts CEO,
Paul Stahura
, added, “As previously announced, Donuts has raised more than $100 million in funding to pursue the new gTLD opportunity. Donuts’ strategic arrangement with Demand Media takes us well beyond that $100 million funding and enables both companies to utilize additional resources, expertise and talent to generate the most value and benefits for customers from this historic opportunity.”
About Demand Media
Demand Media, Inc. (NYSE: DMD) is a leading content and social media company that informs and entertains one of the internet’s largest audiences, helps advertisers find innovative ways to engage with their customers and enables publishers to expand their online presence. Headquartered in Santa Monica, CA, Demand Media has offices inNorth America, South America and Europe. For more information about Demand Media, please visit www.demandmedia.com.
Demand Media and its affiliates are neither investors in Donuts and its affiliates nor are they involved in any joint venture with Donuts and its affiliates.
Cautionary Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended.These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties regarding the Company's future financial performance, and are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry, financial condition, operating performance and results of operations, including certain assumptions related thereto. Statements containing words such as “guidance,” “may,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “project,” “projections,” “business outlook,” and “estimate” or similar expressions constitute forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from the results predicted, and reported results should not be considered an indication of future performance. Potential risks and uncertainties include, among others: changes in the methodologies of Internet search engines, including ongoing algorithmic changes made by Google to its search results as well as possible future changes, and the impact such changes may have on page view growth and driving search related traffic to our owned and operated websites and the websites of our network customers; changes in our content creation and distribution platform, including the possible repurposing of content to alternate distribution channels, or the sale or removal of content; our ability to successfully launch, produce and monetize new content formats; the inherent challenges of estimating the overall impact on page views and search driven traffic to our owned and operated websites based on the data available to us as Google continues to make adjustments to its search algorithms; our ability to compete with new or existing competitors; our ability to maintain or increase our advertising revenue; our ability to continue to drive and grow traffic to our owned and operated websites and the websites of our network customers; our ability to effectively monetize our portfolio of content; our dependence on material agreements with a specific business partner for a significant portion of our revenue; future internal rates of return on content investment and our decision to invest in different types of content in the future, including video and other formats of text content; our ability to attract and retain freelance creative professionals; changes in our level of investment in media content intangibles; the effects of changes in marketing expenditures or shifts in marketing expenditures; the effects of seasonality on traffic to our owned and operated websites and the websites of our network customers; our ability to continue to add partners to our registrar platform on competitive terms; our ability to successfully pursue and implement our gTLD initiative; changes in stock-based compensation; changes in amortization or depreciation expense due to a variety of factors; potential write downs, reserves against or impairment of assets including receivables, goodwill, intangibles, and media content or other assets; changes in tax laws, our business or other factors that would impact anticipated tax benefits or expenses; our ability to successfully identify, consummate and integrate acquisitions, including integrating our recent acquisitions; our ability to retain key customers and key personnel; risks associated with litigation; the impact of governmental regulation; and the effects of discontinuing or discontinued business operations. From time to time, we may consider acquisitions or divestitures that, if consummated, could be material. Any forward-looking statements regarding financial metrics are based upon the assumption that no such acquisition or divestiture is consummated during the relevant periods. If an acquisition or divestiture were consummated, actual results could differ materially from any forward-looking statements. More information about potential risk factors that could affect our operating and financial results are contained in our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2011 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (http://www.sec.gov) on February 24, 2012, and as such risk factors may be updated in our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, without limitation, information under the captions “Risk Factors” and “Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”
Furthermore, as discussed above, the Company does not intend to revise or update the information set forth in this press release, except as required by law, and may not provide this type of information in the future.
Source: Demand Media, Inc.
Demand Media
Media Contact:
Kristen Moore, 310-917-6432
[email protected]
or
Investor Contact:
Julie MacMedan, 310-917-6485
[email protected]