Netflix is giving DVDs away to its last mail delivery customers

The company will shut down its original service in September

Miguel Jiménez

Washington - Aug 29, 2023 - 15:49CEST

Netflix is getting ready to end its DVD home delivery service in the United States, 25 years after it started. This line of business generated $145.7 million in revenue last year, with just over a million DVD-by-mail subscribers. As a final gesture of appreciation, those customers can keep the latest DVDs they rented and enter for a chance to win another 10 free DVDs.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) the company’s DVD Netflix account shared that subscribers will not be charged for any unreturned discs after Sept. 29. “Please enjoy your final shipments for as long as you like!” the post read. Netflix also announced a “Finale Surprise” — DVD subscribers can enter for a chance to get up to 10 extra discs shipped on the final day of the service, although it will depend on title availability and demand.

Netflix mail-delivery subscription plans are as follows: $9.99 for one disc, $14.99 for two discs and $19.99 for three discs at a time. Shipping is free, and except for certain logistical limitations, customers can order as many titles as they want every month. The business now operates under the DVD.com brand and continues to offer an extensive catalog shipped in their distinctive red envelopes.

In April, the pay television leader (by number of customers) announced that it would no longer ship DVDs after September 29 as the service had become unsustainable. Netflix, which started delivering movies by mail in March 1998, quickly gained over 20 million subscribers and successfully navigated the video rental store crisis. It leveraged this large customer base to transition to streaming — as of June 30, Netflix had 238.4 million paying subscribers globally.

“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,“ wrote co-CEO Ted Sarandos on the company’s website. “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.”

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