.channel Domains: An Ending That Opens Only on HTTPS
.channel entered the root zone on 23 August 2014, and the IANA record names Charleston Road Registry Inc., the registry arm of Google, as the sponsoring organisation. The word covers a broadcast channel and a sales or distribution channel alike, and video publishers, partner programmes and content teams draw on both readings. According to the nTLDstats page accessed on 11 August 2026, the zone holds 3,911 registrations.
The distinguishing technical trait is membership of the HSTS preload list. A query to hstspreload.org returns preloaded for this extension, which in practice means a browser connects over HTTPS on the very first attempt. Plan for the site not to open at all until the certificate is live. The same rule governs .app, .dev and .boo.
This extension sits on the HSTS preload list. The browser connects over HTTPS only, so until a valid SSL certificate is installed a visitor cannot reach the site at all. Put the certificate first in your launch plan.
.CHANNEL Domain at a Glance
- Sponsoring organisation Charleston Road Registry Inc. (Google)
- Root zone record 23 August 2014
- Mandatory HTTPS On the HSTS preload list — hstspreload.org returns preloaded
- Eligibility condition No verified restriction
- Registered names 3,911 (nTLDstats, 11 August 2026)
- Document Requirement No documents are required to register a .channel domain
- Character Length 3 - 63 characters
- Registration Period 1 - 10 years
- Name Server Count 2 - 10 servers
.channel Domain Prices — No Surprise Fees
Registration, transfer and renewal fees are listed separately. The renewal price can differ from the first-year price, so you see both up front.
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New Registration
$15.99 /year -
Transfer
$15.99 /year -
Renewal
$16.99 /year -
Restore
$125.00
Included With Every .channel Domain
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Free DNS management
Change A, MX, TXT and CNAME records yourself from the panel — no waiting on anyone when you move a site or mailbox.
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Domain forwarding
Point the domain at your existing site, a campaign page or a social profile — at no extra cost.
.channel Domain Lifecycle
What happens day by day after it expires
Day 0 is the domain's expiry dateIn short: your .channel domain is put on Client Hold on its expiry date, so the site and e-mail stop that same day. You can still renew during the first 20 days, but from this point a late renewal fee is added on top of the renewal price. On day 20 the registration is deleted and until day 50 only a paid restore brings it back. Nothing at all can be done in the 5 days that follow, and on day 55 the name is open to anyone. There is exactly one way never to enter this chain: keep auto-renewal on.
Domain Is Available (Available)
A .channel address at this stage has not been taken yet, and it goes to whoever registers first. Check the name you have in mind — if it is free, it can be yours within minutes.
Domain Is Active (Active Period)
Once registration is complete, the domain is registered to you for the term you selected. You can renew at any point before it expires to keep it active, or switch on auto-renewal so you never have to watch the date.
Renewal Window (Client Hold)
On its expiry date your .channel domain is put on Client Hold: the site and e-mail go down that day, but the registration is still yours. A single renewal within these first 20 days brings everything back exactly as it was — nothing is lost. The only difference is that a late renewal fee is now added to the renewal price; renewing before the expiry date avoids that fee entirely.
Redemption Period (Redemption / RGP)
On day 20 the registration is deleted and the 30-day redemption period that ICANN requires of every gTLD registry begins. The name is not released to anyone during this time; only you can take it back, by paying the restore fee, until day 50. That fee is far higher than a renewal — renewing on time is always the cheaper route.
Pending Delete (Pending Delete)
Once the redemption window closes too, the domain enters its final 5 days and there is no way back. Neither renewal nor restore works here; nobody — your registrar included — can return the name to you. The registry uses this window as the last hold before the name goes back into the pool.
Open to Anyone Again (Released)
On day 55 the name .channel returns to the pool and anyone can register it. Sought-after names are often gone within seconds, and there is no guaranteed way to get one back. Yet staying out of this timeline is entirely in your hands: leave auto-renewal on and the expiry date will never catch you off guard.
The timeline above is the schedule Atak Domain applies and publishes. The ICANN chart you will find elsewhere shows a renewal window of up to 45 days after expiry; ICANN's policy on expired registrations (section 2.2.1) lets registrars delete an expired domain at any time, provided they disclose their policy in advance. We apply that window as 20 days and publish it here in plain sight. Full text of the policy: ICANN Expired Registration Recovery Policy
.channel Domain Specifications and Registration Rules
Registration conditions, supported features and the registry's own timelines in a single table.
.channel Domain Registration
- Document Requirement No documents are required to register a .channel domain
- Character Length 3 - 63 characters
- Registration Period 1 - 10 years
- Name Server Count 2 - 10 servers
.channel Domain Support
- IDN Support No
- Transfer Support Yes
- Late Renewal Support Yes
Frequently Asked Questions About .channel Domains
The questions people actually ask before registering — answered plainly.
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Because the extension sits on the HSTS preload list. A query to hstspreload.org returns preloaded for it, and since the browser carries that list internally, it attempts HTTPS on the very first request. Without an installed certificate no connection is made and the visitor meets an error page. Reverse your launch order: certificate first, content second. Install it from the SSL certificate page.
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One extra step during setup, and a permanent gain afterwards. Since a visitor never falls back to an unencrypted connection, interception attempts and content injection stop at the door. You also avoid chasing mixed content warnings, because every resource on the page has to arrive over HTTPS from the start. Verify the installation with an SSL checker.
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The two readings of the word create two audiences. The first is publishing: video series, podcasts, live streams and programme archives. The second is distribution: partner programmes, reseller portals and sales channel management. In both, the address states the work in one word, and building the root around a brand or a programme name sharpens which reading applies.
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Yes, the visitor cannot reach it. Under an ordinary ending an expired certificate raises a warning the user may choose to pass, whereas here the browser refuses to fall back to an unencrypted connection, so the result is plain unavailability. Switch automatic renewal on and set an alert for certificates nearing their end date. A calendar entry is the simplest way to avoid the outage.
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It means the registry operator is Charleston Road Registry Inc. That company is the registry arm of Google and sets the rules of the extension, while you register the name itself through any registrar you choose. The distinction matters in practice, since billing, renewal and support all run through the registrar rather than the registry.
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Leaving video to a streaming service beats keeping it on your own server almost every time. A single high-resolution stream drains the bandwidth of shared hosting quickly and slows everything else on the page. Let hosting serve text, pages and archives while video arrives from a separate service. Compare the options on the hosting page.
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