It’s 2023 and Netflix is far and above the biggest streaming platform on the planet. But, this wasn’t always the case. In fact, Netflix didn’t even start as a streaming platform. Instead, Netflix began as a DVD sales and rental website in 1998, before it launched its streaming service 9 years later in 2007.
However, after 25 years, Netflix has just finally shuttered its DVD-by-mail business to focus exclusively on its streaming service.
Speaking about the company’s decision, Marc Randolph, who co-founded the company and formerly headed it, said the following, “From day one, we knew DVDs would go away, that this was transitory step. And the DVD service did that job miraculously well. It was like an unsung booster rocket that got Netflix into orbit and then dropped back to Earth after 25 years. That’s pretty impressive.”
Netflix first announced this development earlier this year to the disappointment of many customers. On Friday, September 29, the company took the step and mailed its final DVDs ever to customers.
We can’t say we didn’t see this move coming. DVD sales have shrunk over the years while streaming demand has grown stronger. To illustrate, Netflix made $182 million from non-streaming services including DVD sales and rentals in 2021, which is just about 0.6% of its total revenue for that year.
Besides the decline in the popularity of DVDs, there is also the fact that shipping them by mail is more expensive than hosting them on a cloud for streaming. Taking all of these factors into account, you would most likely come to the same logical conclusion as Netflix, which is to shut down its DVD arm.
For those who patronize this service, the company has a parting gift: they can keep whatever disc they still have on them for free. Some customers are even luckier as the company will mail up to 10 extra DVDs to those who signed up for its finale surprise promo.
Despite its offer for customers to hold on to the DVDs they get, Netflix will keep its stores open for those who wish to return any DVDs in their possession. Although we find it hard to understand why anybody would want to do this, we certainly agree with the company’s choice to offer the option, too.
However, it is time-limited, as stores will only be open till October 27. After that, customers who still have Netflix DVDs in their possession will have no choice but to hold on to them or find an alternative means of disposal – check with your local recycling depot to see if they offer the option.
The end of Netflix’s DVD-by-mail service is a bittersweet moment. Yes, the world has largely moved on from DVDs, but of course there was a time when it was all the rage, and massive towers full of the latest blockbuster releases were a flex.
At its peak in 2011, Netflix had 20 million customers for the DVD service and, over 25 total years of its existence, 5.2 billion DVDs were shipped.
Over a decade later, Netflix is now the market leader in the streaming space, setting trends and opening the pandora’s box that is limiting password-sharing earlier this year, to much commercial success. Disney is now thinking of following suit, starting in Canada. It remains to be seen if Prime Video and Max will follow suit.
