Netflix Acquired Fast.com

On April 27th, Jamie Zoch noticed that the Fast.com domain name had changed hands. After the domain transfer was completed, the registrant was listed as DNStination Inc., a company that is affiliated with MarkMonitor. Companies that wish to keep their Whois information private can use DNStination as the registrant.

This morning, George Kirikos shared that it looks like Netflix acquired the Fast.com domain name. Although the Fast.com Whois information still shows DNStination as its registrant, there is a new website on Fast.com that says “powered by Netflix” at the bottom. I think it is safe to assume that Netflix acquired Fast.com.

The website appears to be an Internet speed test to show how fast a visitor’s connection is. The Fast.com FAQ page shares why Netflix is offering Fast.com: “We want our members to have a simple, quick, commercial-free way to estimate the speed their ISP is providing.”

Although the purchase price of Fast.com has not been publicly shared to my knowledge, it must have been an expensive acquisition. My guess is that it was certainly a 6 figure acquisition, and it is possible that the price went into the 7 figure range depending on the seller’s willingness to sell and the buyer’s eagerness to purchase this domain name. Because Netflix is a publicly traded company, perhaps we will learn about the purchase price in a future filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Fast.com is an excpetional domain name, and it will be interesting to see if Netflix continues to use it in perpetuity or if this is a temporary promotion. It will also be interesting to see how much Netflix promotes Fast.com.