Netflix Says Goodbye to Its DVD-by-Mail Service After 25 Years

Netflix, the company that revolutionized the video rental industry with its DVD-by-mail service in 1998, has decided to shut down its legacy business.

The company’s mail-order DVD service helped it outcompete traditional stores like Blockbuster and paved the way for its streaming success. Netflix continued to offer DVDs by mail even as it expanded its streaming library and created its own original shows and movies. However, the company has now announced that it will stop mailing DVDs by September this year.

Netflix has confirmed on its website that it will stop sending DVDs by mail after September 29, ending its legacy service.

Netflix is closing its DVD business, which lasted for an impressive 25 years and was the foundation of its success, before streaming was even a thing. The company explained the reason for its decision in its FAQ:

After an incredible 25 year run, we’ve made the difficult decision to wind down at the end of September. 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. Making 2023 our Final Season allows us to maintain our quality of service through the last day and go out on a high note.

Netflix

Netflix’s choice to end its DVD business is understandable, given the rise of streaming and the decline of DVDs, but it also shows how the company has changed over time. Netflix did not rest on its laurels. It built a rich collection of movies and shows to stream while still offering DVD rentals.

Netflix also started to make its own original content, with the first Netflix original show being House of Cards in 2013. This opened the door for many other popular Netflix originals, such as Orange is the New Black, Stranger Things, Wednesday and Black Mirror.

As more streaming services appeared and took away many of the movies and shows that Netflix had been streaming for years, Netflix’s original content became the main attraction of its service.

Netflix still releases new seasons or parts of new seasons all at once, unlike many streaming services that release new episodes weekly. This promotes the “binge-watching” model.

Netflix’s recent effort to stop password sharing is another way they are setting themselves apart from their rivals, though the long-term effect of that effort is unclear. Shutting down their DVD rental services was unavoidable.