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Meet the Man Who Owns TrumpTV.com — And Wants $3 Million for It (Exclusive)

“I totally forgot I owned it,” Hollywood entrepreneur Fernando Escovar tells TheWrap

| October 26, 2016 @ 2:29 PM
Meet the Man Who Owns TrumpTV.com and Could Be Sitting on a Gold Mine (Exclusive)

Photo: Fernando Escovar

In 2004, Fernando Escovar, a Hollywood entrepreneur, bought the domain TrumpTV.com for $10. Now it could be worth millions.

“I totally forgot I owned it,” Escovar told TheWrap. “Then, all of a sudden, traffic began to go crazy and I realized what was going on.”

Speculation about a possible Trump network reached fever pitch in recent weeks after several news articles indicated Trump’s inner circle is looking for a way to leverage his support into a new media platform.

Also Read: Stephen Colbert Pitches Potential Trump TV Programming (Video)

In October, the Financial Times reported that Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, had informally approached one of the media industry’s top dealmakers about the setting up a Trump network after the presidential election is over.

While Trump could pick any number of names for a possible TV network, it seems Trump TV is the most obvious choice. Trump has even used the hashtag #TrumpTV on social media.

Earlier this week, the Trump campaign began airing its version of a new nightly news program through Facebook Live.

Also Read: Fox Business Network Fans Most Likely to Watch Entire Presidential Debate

Ironically, Escovar’s initial interest in the URL had nothing to do with the celebrity reality show host. Escovar, who owns several entertainment sites including FabTV.com, also has a few card-game websites.

“Trump is a term used in Bridge,” Escovar said. “I wasn’t even thinking of Donald Trump.”

Escovar, who has met the GOP nominee several times during red carpet events, says he has not yet heard from Trump’s camp. But, just in case, he already has a price tag in mind: $3 million.

“I’ve sold a bunch of domains over the years and so I know how much they’re worth,” he said.

Also Read: Did Donald Trump Just Use the Debate to Test-Launch Trump TV?

If for whatever reason Trump decides not to buy the URL, Escovar says he’ll just keep it… and the new-found traffic courtesy of Donald Trump.

“We’ve seen our traffic go from about 150,000 people to 1.3 million in just the last couple of weeks,” Escovar said laughing. “It’s all so random.”

Asked who he would vote for in November, Escovar said he was leaning towards Hillary Clinton.

“She knows the ins and outs of politics,” he said. “And I like the idea of a first woman president.”

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