Back when physical media was in a boom, Netflix created a rage among the audience with its DVDs. However, Netflix has bad news for nostalgic people who still cherish physical media. After 25 long years of continuous entertainment, the OTT giant is ending its DVD business.
End of an Era
Many people recognize Netflix today as one of the world’s leading online streaming platforms. However, many don’t know that Netflix’s business model was initially centered on sending DVDs through the mail in its iconic red and white envelopes. According to some figures, the company was at its peak in 2010, with around 20 million subscribers to the DVD service.
Ted Sarandos, Co-Chief Executive of Netflix said in a letter, “Those iconic red envelopes changed the way people watched shows and movies at home and paved the way for the shift to streaming. To everyone who added a DVD to their queue or waited by the mailbox for the red envelope to arrive; thank you.”
Netflix has not disclosed the current number of customers for DVDs. However, with the announcement, the company has asked the users to dust off any DVDs and send their red envelopes back to Los Gatos where they can be retired.
Netflix to Shut its DVD Business after 25 years
Dominance of Streaming
The recent announcement was a part of Netflix’s first-quarter earnings report. These reports show the increasing dominance of streaming over the past few years. While Netflix added 7.7 million subscribers, its revenue increased by 4 percent and the profits touched almost $1.3 billion. The company’s average paid membership also increased by 4 percent. Presently, Netflix has around 232.5 million subscribers around the world.
The company, however, missed its revenue guidance for the quarter, falling short of Wall Street’s expectations. This has left analysts concerned that Netflix has yet not recovered from its revenue loss last year so they desided to shut DVD Business.
