It may come as news to some that Netflix is still shipping subscribers DVDs in its iconic red envelopes, right now in 2023, what with the popularity of streaming and all.
However that legacy service is officially coming to an end.
Netflix announced that it was closing down DVD.com and will no longer be shipping out DVDs to customers as of September 29, 2023.
Their stated reason for ending the service is that DVD subscribers are disappearing.
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.
Of course, they really haven't been trying to keep it going.
I haven't seen an advertisement for their DVD service in 10 years and honestly thought it already shut down since founder Reed Hastings had insinuated the demise of the service way back in 2012.
I guess it lasted longer than he imagined it would, especially without any attempt at marketing it — at all.
However, what I find odd about the whole thing is that Netflix is struggling to maintain subscribers for their streaming service as well, having missed their growth estimates significantly this quarter.
With every network, film studio, and their moms starting streaming services, not only has Netflix been crushed by competition, but they've also lost a lot of their streaming deals from those content producers.
Which left mostly original content available for streaming, and Netflix made the mistake of going woke with its original content early on. Remember Cuties?
They lost a lot of streaming subscribers with that one, and most of us haven't returned, in large part because they don't have classic originals with traditional values tempting viewers back like Disney, Time Warner, and Paramount do.
In many ways, their DVD service filled that void for the company.
So, what is Netflix's big plan to recoup the money they'll lose from closing down the DVD option?
Including advertising in their paid subscriptions.
Granted, the advertising is only in the lowest tier of the subscription, but still, can you imagine paying a company to make you the product they're selling?
Netflix seems to be a corporation in desperate need of course correction or its DVD arm won't be the only thing closing.
