Netflix will end its DVD-by-mail service (2024)

A Netflix DVD envelope is shown in 2022 in San Francisco. Netflix is poised to shut down its DVD-by-mail rental service. Michael Liedtke/AP hide caption

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Michael Liedtke/AP

Netflix will end its DVD-by-mail service (2)

A Netflix DVD envelope is shown in 2022 in San Francisco. Netflix is poised to shut down its DVD-by-mail rental service.

Michael Liedtke/AP

SAN FRANCISCO — Netflix is poised to shut down the DVD-by-mail rental service that set the stage for its trailblazing video streaming service, ending an era that began a quarter century ago when delivering discs through the mail was considered a revolutionary concept.

The DVD service, which still delivers films and TV shows in the red-and-white envelopes that once served as Netflix's emblem, plans to mail its final discs on Sept. 29.

Netflix ended March with 232.5 million worldwide subscribers to its video streaming service, but it stopped disclosing how many people still pay for DVD-by-mail delivery years ago as that part of its business steadily shrank. The DVD service generated $145.7 million in revenue last year, which translated into somewhere between 1.1 million and 1.3 million subscribers, based on the average prices paid by customers.

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Netflix, The Streaming Wars, And The Future Of American Entertainment

The growth of Netflix's video streaming service has been slowing down over the past year, prompting management to put more emphasis on boosting profits. That focus may have also contributed to the decision to close an operation that was becoming a financial drain.

But the DVD service was once Netflix's biggest money maker.

Shortly before Netflix broke it off from video streaming in 2011, the DVD-by-mail service boasted more than 16 million subscribers. That number has steadily dwindled and the service's eventual demise became apparent as the idea of waiting for the U.S. Postal Service to deliver entertainment became woefully outdated.

But the DVD-by-mail service still has die-hard fans who continue to subscribe because they treasure finding obscure movies that are aren't widely available on video streaming. Many subscribers still wax nostalgic about opening their mailbox and seeing the familiar red-and-white envelopes awaiting them instead of junk mail and a stack of bills.

"Those iconic red envelopes changed the way people watched shows and movies at home — and they paved the way for the shift to streaming," Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos wrote in a blog post about the DVD service's forthcoming shutdown.

The service's history dates back to 1997 when Netflix co-founder Marc Randolph went to a post office in Santa Cruz, California, to mail a Patsy Cline compact disc to his friend and fellow co-founder Reed Hastings. Randolph, Netflix's original CEO, wanted to test whether a disc could be delivered through the U.S. Postal Service without being damaged, hoping eventually to do the same thing with the still-new format that became the DVD.

The Patsy Cline CD arrived at Hastings' home unblemished, prompting the duo in 1998 to launch a DVD-by-mail rental website that they always knew would be supplanted by even more convenient technology.

"It was planned obsolescence, but our bet was that it would take longer for it to happen than most people thought at the time," Randolph said in an interview with The Associated Press last year across the street from the Santa Cruz post office where he mailed the Patsy Cline CD. Hastings replaced Randolph as Netflix's CEO a few years after its inception, a job he didn't relinquish until stepping down in January.

With just a little over five months of life remaining, the DVD service has shipped more than 5 billion discs across the U.S. — the only country in which it ever operated. Its ending echoes the downfall of the thousands of Blockbuster video rental stores that closed because they couldn't counter the threat posed by Netflix's DVD-by-mail alternative.

Even subscribers who remain loyal to the DVD service could see the end coming as they noticed the shrinking selection in a library that once boasted more than 100,000 titles. Some customers also have reported having to wait longer for discs to be delivered as Netflix closed dozens of DVD distribution centers with the shift to streaming.

"Our goal has always been to provide the best service for our members but as the business continues to shrink that's going to become increasingly difficult," Sarandos acknowledged in his blog post.

Netflix rebranded the rental service as DVD.com — a prosaic name that was settled upon after Hastings floated the idea of calling it Qwikster, an idea that was widely ridiculed. The DVD service has been operating from a non-descript office in Fremont, California, located about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from Netflix's sleek campus in Los Gatos, California.

Netflix will end its DVD-by-mail service (2024)

FAQs

Netflix will end its DVD-by-mail service? ›

Our goal has always been to provide the best service for our members but as the business continues to shrink that's going to become increasingly difficult. So we want to go out on a high, and will be shipping our final discs on September 29, 2023.

Will Netflix stop mailing DVDs? ›

The company announced earlier this year it is shutting down its DVD-by-mail service, 16 years after it gradually shifted its focus to streaming content online. Netflix will continue to accept returns of customers' remaining DVDs until October 27.

What will happen to the Netflix DVD collection? ›

We will not be charging for any unreturned discs — please enjoy any discs you have at home for as long as you like! Your queue, rental history, ratings, and reviews will be available to download until October 27th 2023, so be sure to get your DVD Netflix history here.

Will Netflix get rid of DVDs? ›

DVD member questions

Your last bill for DVD service was in August and DVD subscriptions were automatically canceled on September 29, 2023. If you had both a streaming and DVD subscription, your streaming subscription isn't affected.

What will replace Netflix DVDs? ›

2023 Top DVD Rental Services Alternative to Netflix
Whre to Rent DVDs like NetflixPriceMaximum Rental Period
Redbox$1.80 per night for DVDs, $2.00 for Blu-ray.7 days
3D-BlurayRentalStarting from $8.99/1 month for 2 DVDs.As long as you want.
GameflyStarting from $8.95 one movie per month (no 4k).As long as you want.
6 more rows
Oct 25, 2023

Can I keep my Netflix DVDs? ›

You Can Keep Your Final DVDs, Netflix Says - The New York Times.

Will DVDs be phased out? ›

In terms of DVDs as a medium for watching films, they will almost certainly be available in 20 years' time, albeit in less supply in response to lower demand for DVDs, as online streaming becomes more of a medium for watching movies. However, that is not to say that DVDs will be completely ruled out in 20 years' time.

How many people still rent DVDs from Netflix? ›

As it shuts down, Netflix still has an estimated 1.1 million to 1.3 million DVD rental subscribers. In announcing the closing of the DVD unit, Netflix said, "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.”

What will replace DVDs? ›

Best Buy has recently announced that at the beginning of 2024, they will no longer be selling physical copies of DVDs, citing the turn to streaming as the reason for the move.

Is Redbox owned by Netflix? ›

Redbox specializes in its namesake automated DVD rental kiosks, and also operated transactional and ad-supported streaming video and television services. Since 2022, Redbox has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment.

What was the last Netflix DVD mailed? ›

What was the last DVD? The official X (formerly Twitter) account for Netflix's DVD service revealed on social media the contents of the last red envelope shipped. Inside was a Blu-ray disc of "True Grit," a 2010 Western film.

Why Netflix change from DVD to streaming? ›

Netflix started out with the idea to make it easier and less expensive for people to watch movies. But they didn't want to stay in the DVD game forever. They had the foresight to predict that consumer behaviors would continue to shift. And, they wanted to stay ahead of the competition.

Will Netflix ever release DVDs? ›

On Friday, Netflix is shutting down its mail-order DVD service.

Does anyone still use Netflix DVD? ›

It's the end of an era—and not just for plastic discs.

In April, a little more than 25 years after Netflix shipped its first DVD, co-CEO Ted Sarandos announced that the company would be shutting down its disc-mailing business for good at the end of September.

Is Redbox still renting DVDs? ›

Less than a year after Netflix mailed its last DVD, Redbox is ceasing operations and shuttering its 24,000 titular rental kiosks in another devastating blow to whatever's left of the disc business.

Is Netflix giving away DVDs? ›

Netflix, in a move to commemorate the end of an era—the discontinuation of its DVD Distribution Service—decided to give away 10 DVDs to random subscribers. Sounds like a feel-good finale, right? Except there was a plot twist: the announcement left everyone wondering whether these DVDs had to be returned.

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