They Still Did This?: Netflix Is Finally Shutting Down Its DVD-By-Mail Business
Written by djfrosty on April 19, 2023
Source: Justin Sullivan / Getty / Netflix
Remember when Netflix sent out DVDs? If you do, say goodbye to the feature cause it is going away.
Before Netflix became the streaming giant it is now, the company used to send customers DVDs through the mail. Yes, they really used to do that.
But no more. Netflix is officially shutting down its DVD-by-mail business. The company made the announcement on Tuesday ahead of its first-quarter 2023 earnings report, Variety reports.
According to Netflix, it has sent out more than 5 billion DVD and Blu-ray rentals through the mail across the United States.
Co-CEO Ted Sarandos said the final Netflix DVDs will be sent out to customers still using the service on Sept. 29, 2023.
As the company pushed customers towards streaming, the revenue for Netflix’s DVD-by-mail steadily was on the decline. According to the streaming giant, the DVD business brought in $145.7 million, accounting for 0.5% of Netflix’s total revenue.
“From the beginning, our members loved the choice and control that direct-to-consumer entertainment offered: the wide variety of the titles and the ability to binge-watch entire series,” Sarandos said in a statement on the company’s blog.
He continues, “We feel so privileged to have been able to share movie nights with our DVD members for so long, so proud of what our employees achieved, and excited to continue pleasing entertainment fans for many more decades to come. To everyone who ever added a DVD to their queue or waited by the mailbox for a red envelope to arrive: thank you.”
Netflix’s video streaming service launched in 2007, and it was part of its DVD-by-mail subscription plans.
It’s an end of an era.
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Photo: Justin Sullivan / Getty