Netflix will officially end its DVD rental service on Friday, marking the end of their 25-year business of mailing DVDs to members. After announcing earlier this year that it would be shutting down the service, the company will be expecting returns of their customers’ remaining DVDs until October 27.
Netflix was first launched in 1998 as a DVD service, promising easier rental experiences than Blockbuster and Hollywood video. Their red envelopes quickly became an iconic symbol of the film market, and although DVD mail rentals are out of date, many longtime customers voiced sadness about the discontinuation of the service.
“I was basically watching them as soon as I got them, and then returning the discs as quickly as possible to get as many as I could,” said Colin McEvoy, who has been using Netflix’s DVD-by-mail rental service since 2001. He says he uses the service to watch Bollywood films and independent films that aren’t found on streaming services. “I remember I was in high school when I first signed up for it, and the concept was so novel I had to really convince my dad that it was a legit service and not some sort of Internet scam. Now I have friends who’ve seen my red Netflix envelopes arrive in the mail, and either didn’t remember what they were or couldn’t believe that I still got the DVDs in the mail.”
“Our goal has always been to provide the best service for our members, but as the DVD business continues to shrink, that’s going to become increasingly difficult,” co-CEO Ted Sarandos said in a blog post earlier this year. As of 2021, the DVD service only amounted to 0.6% of Netflix’s revenue, so it’s no secret as to why they are dropping the service to focus on bigger, better opportunities and income streams.
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