Netflix announces the end, in September, of its DVD rental service by mail. This was the group’s historical activity since 1997. Now, the company is entirely focused on streaming.
You may not know it, but Netflix hasn’t always been a player in the subscription video-on-demand market. The American company, founded in 1997, did not launch into streaming until ten years later. Previously, its activity was centered on… the rental of DVDs by mail. And it is precisely this service that is bowing out.
A post on April 18 on the official Netflix DVD account announces the twilight of optical disc shipping. The last envelope will leave on September 29, 2023, ending almost twenty-five years of activity in this sector. From now on, the group will be completely focused on online video, which has largely become its main source of activity.
” Our goal has always been to provide the best service to our members, but as business continues to dwindle this will become increasingly difficult. “, indicated Ted Sarandos, the founder and director of Netflix, in a dedicated publication. Gradually, the number of subscribers to this service has eroded, like revenues.
5.2 billion DVDs delivered
The DVD rental was aimed at the North American market. This option has never been offered in France. It must be said that when the SVOD giant arrived in France in 2014, streaming was a booming practice, unlike DVDs. Over the years, Netflix has had over 40 million customers across the United States and shipped over 5.2 billion discs.
Although in decline today, sending DVDs by mail made the success of Netflix across the Atlantic in the 2000s, after coming close to bankruptcy. After the bursting of the Internet bubble, the company almost sold itself to the most powerful video store chain in the USA, in order to operate this online service on its behalf. But, history decided otherwise.
This decision was announced during the presentation of its results for the first quarter of 2023. The platform unveiled a number of customers exceeding the threshold of 232 million, thanks to growth in Europe and Asia. Revenue is also up and should continue to grow, if the new account sharing model achieves the expected results.
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