The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) announced that it intends to submit an application to acquire the “.radio” top-level domain name for use by the global broadcast radio community.

The deadline for submission is April 12.

With 21 TLDs at present, including .com, .org, .net and national ones such as .ch, and .fr, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the authority maintaining and regulating Web addresses, is calling for new applications for creative TLDs. In addition to .radio, the EBU will also apply for .eurovision.

According to Ingrid Deltenre, EBU general director, the acquisition of the .radio TLD would allow the world’s oldest broadcasting medium to “communitize” as never before.

“The EBU wants to ensure that the world’s radio community has fair, reasonable access to a domain name that could bring unique impetus to the entire sector,” she said. “The EBU would administer the .radio TLD in a neutral, reliable and not-for-profit way. It would be regrettable if it fell into hands that do not represent the entire radio community.”

The application, which the EBU says has the backing of the World Broadcasting Unions (WBU) and other relevant bodies, will stress that the .radio TLD would allow the EBU to create an Internet-based platform where the world’s radio broadcasters could assemble.

In addition to the EBU the World Broadcast Unions include: Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU); Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU); African Union of Broadcasting (AUB); Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU); International Association of Broadcasting (IAB); North American Broadcasters Association (NABA) and Organizacion de Telecomunicaciones Iberoamericanas (OTI).

BRS Media separately has applied for “.radio” as well. That company is familiar in radio as the entity that launched .FM top level domains for use by radio stations, though .FM officially is the country code top-level-domain of the Federal States of Micronesia.

Related:
“Internet: Here Comes Dot-Radio”