The end of an era: Netflix winds down its DVD mailing service after 25 years – but its estimated 1.3 million subscribers are eligible for one final perk
The end of an era: Netflix is ending its DVD mail service after 25 years, but its estimated 1.3 million subscribers are eligible for one last benefit
- Netflix has announced it will ship its last discs on September 29, but customers will get to keep them for free
- The entertainment giant has shipped more than 5.2 billion discs in its famous red envelopes since 1998
- Netflix’s online streaming platform now has more than 238 million subscribers worldwide
Netflix ends its DVD rental business after 25 years.
As streaming platforms have taken over the entertainment industry, physical copies of movies and TV shows have become increasingly obsolete.
Netflix has announced it will ship its last discs on September 29, but customers will get to keep them for free.
“We will not charge for unreturned discs after September 29. Enjoy your latest shipments for as long as you want!”, DVD Netflix posted on social media.
“If you choose to return the drive, we will continue to accept returns until October 27, 2023,” the company added.
Netflix has announced it will ship the final discs on September 29, but customers can keep them for free
Subscribers to the DVD-by-mail service, which the company operates through its DVD.com Web site, can also apply before August 29 to receive ten free mystery discs.
Since Netflix began shipping movies in its famous red-and-white envelopes in 1998, Netflix has shipped more than 5.2 billion discs, the company said.
According to estimates, the DVD service has between 1.1 million and 1.3 million subscribers and generated a $145.7 million share of the company’s $32 billion revenue last year.
The streaming service, on the other hand, added 2.6 million subscribers in July alone, bringing its global subscriber base to 238.3 million.
The DVD service broke away from the company’s video streaming arm in 2011, and Netflix had long expected to discontinue its physical rental service as the popularity of DVDs has declined and the number of customers has dwindled.
According to CNBCDVD sales peaked in 2005 at $16.3 billion, long surpassed by the meteoric rise of online streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon and Apple TV.
In 2009, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings predicted that the company would end DVD rentals by 2030.
Announcing the closure earlier this year, the company said, “It’s a real pleasure and honor to have been providing movie nights for our amazing members for 25 years.”
“Those iconic red envelopes changed the way people watched shows and movies at home — paving the way for the shift to streaming,” co-CEO Ted Sarandos wrote in a blog post.
According to estimates, the DVD service has between 1.1 million and 1.3 million subscribers and generated $145.7 million in revenue last year
In 2009, Reed Hastings, co-founder of Netflix (pictured), predicted that the company would end DVD rentals by 2030
It comes as Netflix scrapped its low-cost, ad-free subscription for new US customers earlier this year in a bid to boost profits amid increasing market competition and declining subscriber numbers.
This means consumers will have to choose from an ad-free “standard” monthly subscription of $15.49, an ad-free premium subscription of $19.99 for up to four simultaneous streams, or an ad-supported subscription of $6.99.
The streaming giant is also officially cracking down on password sharing by limiting its platform’s viewership to users who live in the same household.