.tv Domain Names
43 registrars compared — cheapest from $24.98 at Spaceship
Delegated in 1996 to Tuvalu, .tv is a tiny Pacific nation's country code that became a global brand for video and television—long before streaming was a thing.
| # | Registrar | Registration | Renewal | Transfer | 5-Year Cost | 10-Year Cost | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spaceship Cheapest | $24.98 | $24.98 | $24.98 | $124.90 | $249.80 | Visit |
| 2 | Cloudflare | $25.00 | $25.00 | $25.00 | $125.00 | $250.00 | Visit |
| 3 | NameSilo | $25.99 | $26.99 | $25.99 | $133.95 | $268.90 | Visit |
| 4 | OVHcloud | $25.99 | $34.99 | $35.69 | $165.95 | $340.90 | Visit |
| 5 | Sav | $25.99 | $25.99 | $25.99 | $129.95 | $259.90 | Visit |
| 6 | Dynadot | $26.25 | $26.25 | $26.25 | $131.25 | $262.50 | Visit |
| 7 | Porkbun | $26.26 | $26.26 | $26.26 | $131.30 | $262.60 | Visit |
| 8 | Regery | $26.29 | $26.99 | $26.29 | $134.25 | $269.20 | Visit |
| 9 | Cosmotown | $26.83 | $26.83 | $26.83 | $134.15 | $268.30 | Visit |
| 10 | eDomains | $27.00 | $27.00 | $27.00 | $135.00 | $270.00 | Visit |
| 11 | Above.com | $27.50 | $27.50 | $27.50 | $137.50 | $275.00 | Visit |
| 12 | Truehost | $27.50 | $34.31 | $32.50 | $164.74 | $336.29 | Visit |
| 13 | All Domains | $27.75 | $33.30 | $33.30 | $160.95 | $327.45 | Visit |
| 14 | Alibaba Cloud | $27.99 | $27.99 | $27.99 | $139.95 | $279.90 | Visit |
| 15 | NameBright | $28.30 | $28.30 | $28.30 | $141.50 | $283.00 | Visit |
| 16 | Gname | $28.99 | $28.99 | $28.99 | $144.95 | $289.90 | Visit |
| 17 | Epik | $29.95 | $29.95 | $29.95 | $149.75 | $299.50 | Visit |
| 18 | Namecheap | $29.98 | $40.98 | $28.98 | $193.90 | $398.80 | Visit |
| 19 | IONOS | $32.00 | $40.00 | $34.00 | $192.00 | $392.00 | Visit |
| 20 | MrDomain | $32.13 | $32.13 | $32.13 | $160.65 | $321.30 | Visit |
| 21 | Bluehost | $32.99 | $37.99 | $32.99 | $184.95 | $374.90 | Visit |
| 22 | Marcaria | $33.00 | $33.00 | $33.00 | $165.00 | $330.00 | Visit |
| 23 | Crazy Domains | $33.75 | $34.79 | $33.75 | $172.91 | $346.86 | Visit |
| 24 | Internet.bs | $33.99 | $39.15 | $37.99 | $190.59 | $386.34 | Visit |
| 25 | DreamHost | $34.95 | $34.95 | $34.95 | $174.75 | $349.50 | Visit |
| 26 | Hostinger | $34.99 | $34.99 | $34.99 | $174.95 | $349.90 | Visit |
| 27 | Hover | $34.99 | $34.99 | $34.99 | $174.95 | $349.90 | Visit |
| 28 | Gandi | $35.00 | $71.98 | $31.00 | $322.92 | $682.82 | Visit |
| 29 | INWX | $35.26 | $35.26 | $35.26 | $176.30 | $352.60 | Visit |
| 30 | Blacknight | $36.61 | $36.61 | $36.61 | $183.05 | $366.10 | Visit |
| 31 | 101domain | $36.99 | $43.99 | $36.99 | $212.95 | $432.90 | Visit |
| 32 | Directnic | $37.99 | $37.99 | $37.99 | $189.95 | $379.90 | Visit |
| 33 | Netim | $38.00 | $38.00 | $27.50 | $190.00 | $380.00 | Visit |
| 34 | Regtons | $38.00 | $38.00 | $38.00 | $190.00 | $380.00 | Visit |
| 35 | Infomaniak | $39.39 | $39.39 | $39.39 | $196.95 | $393.90 | Visit |
| 36 | Moniker | $39.99 | $48.39 | $46.99 | $233.55 | $475.50 | Visit |
| 37 | UK2 | $41.17 | $41.17 | $41.17 | $205.85 | $411.70 | Visit |
| 38 | Name.com | $41.99 | $46.99 | $26.99 | $229.95 | $464.90 | Visit |
| 39 | Hello.co | $44.99 | $44.99 | $44.99 | $224.95 | $449.90 | Visit |
| 40 | GoDaddy | $49.99 | $49.99 | $49.99 | $249.95 | $499.90 | Visit |
| 41 | 123 Reg | $50.14 | $50.14 | $50.14 | $250.70 | $501.40 | Visit |
| 42 | OnlyDomains | $54.99 | $61.99 | $61.99 | $302.95 | $612.90 | Visit |
| 43 | EuroDNS | $63.55 | $63.55 | $63.55 | $317.75 | $635.50 | Visit |
Prices updated daily. Some registrars show promotional first-year prices. Always verify the final price on the registrar's website before purchasing.
A Polynesian Nation's Accidental Media Empire
The .tv delegation on March 18, 1996, gave Tuvalu—a Polynesian nation of roughly 11,000 people spread across nine atolls—a digital asset far more lucrative than its physical exports. The two-letter code happens to be the universal abbreviation for television, and the registry's marketing arm, turnon.tv, seized on that coincidence. While the official intended use is for "entities connected with Tuvalu," the actual use is overwhelmingly commercial, pitched at video and broadcast-related sites worldwide. Few Tuvaluans actually register under their own ccTLD; the real demand comes from startups, streamers, and content creators who never plan to set foot in Funafuti.
Why the World Ignored Tuvalu's Intended Use
Tuvalu's Wikipedia entry explains the geography—Oceania, Polynesia, capital Funafuti, languages English and Tuvaluan—but the .tv story is about how a country code escaped its borders. The IANA record lists the sponsor as the Ministry of Transport, Energy, Communications and Innovations, a government body that has largely outsourced global sales to a private operator. Restrictions on registration are none; anyone can buy a .tv domain for any purpose. That open policy, combined with the irresistible TV association, turned a national identifier into a generic extension. The result: a ccTLD that behaves more like a vanity gTLD, with almost no registrants actually located in Tuvalu.
The Price of Fame: .tv Sits in the Premium Tier
Unlike budget ccTLDs that cost pocket change, .tv commands a premium. The pricing spread across 43 registrars is narrow, but the floor is high—Spaceship offers it at $24.98, and renewal stays at $24.98. The most expensive registrar charges $63.55, and the average hovers near $34.31. That premium pricing is a direct reflection of demand: video content exploded after 1996, and .tv became the de facto shorthand for "watch this." For a country whose GDP once relied on stamp sales and fishing licenses, the domain has become a steady revenue stream—one the government negotiated carefully when renewing the registry contract.
Video's Creative Kin: .tv vs .design, .art, and .media
In the creative-media family, .tv has a different personality than .design, .art, .gallery, .media, and .press. Those newer gTLDs signal a static portfolio piece or a niche publication; .tv implies motion, broadcast, and live content. The UDRP dispute policy applies just as it does to those extensions, so trademark holders can reclaim squatted names. But the association is so strong that .tv has become a category in itself—not a generic word like .media, but a medium-specific memory hook. While a photographer might choose .gallery to show stills, a podcaster or streamer reaches for .tv to promise video, even if the site is just a blog with embedded clips.
A ccTLD That Answers 'What Country Is .tv?'
One of the most-asked questions about .tv is simply which country it belongs to. The answer is on the IANA database: it's the country code for Tuvalu, matching the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code TV. The Wikipedia article on Tuvalu notes that the nation's official languages are English and Tuvaluan, and its capital is Funafuti. For most domain buyers, the country of origin is irrelevant—they want the letters T and V. But the ccTLD status matters legally: it's not a generic top-level domain controlled by ICANN's new gTLD program, but a sovereign nation's internet asset. That sovereignty has let Tuvalu's government negotiate directly with the registry operator, turning a linguistic accident into a diplomatic and economic tool.