Despite the presence of many competitors in the streaming of films and series, Netflix is holding its ground. After a short period of decline, SVOD announced good quarterly results in October.
Moreover, in addition to dominating the streaming market, the platform is diversifying into video games. Currently, the Netflix subscription already provides access to a catalog of mobile games. And the group is also interested in cloud gaming.
In 2022, we sometimes forget that in its early days, Netflix did not stream films and series, but rented DVDs. The company was established in 1997 and it wasn’t until the late 2000s that it got into streaming.
As technologies have evolved, streaming has gained ground while DVDs have lost ground. And when Netflix officially landed in France in 2014, DVD rental was clearly no longer its core business.
Despite the arrival of streaming, DVDs are still there
Even in the United States, people may be surprised to learn that Netflix still offers its DVD rental service. Indeed, although streaming has taken over, the Los Gatos company has never closed this service.
Remember Netflix DVDs by mail in those red-and-white envelopes? They’re still doing that. https://t.co/dwYROnjq6W pic.twitter.com/97i3RO4BON
— LA Daily News (@ladailynews) November 25, 2022
According to a recent Cnet.com article, the cheapest subscription costs $10 per month and allows you to order unlimited DVDs per month. But one at a time: you must return the DVD in your possession to receive another one. Everything is done through the postal services.
Unfortunately (or not), it is very likely that Netflix is about to end this service. In a recent article, Fortune magazine explains that it’s only a matter of time.
The media also recalls a statement by Reed Hastings in 2018. At the time, the DVD delivery service already had only 3.3 million users. And the CEO of Netflix had indicated that the company could continue to offer this DVD rental service for another five years.
According to this statement, Netflix could therefore consider closing the DVD activity in 2023. Nevertheless, it should be noted that if DVDs are clearly no longer a priority for SVOD, they are resisting.
In its article, Fortune indicates that despite the existence of streaming services, Americans continue to rent DVDs from Netflix either because they are not tech-savvy, or because they do not have a good connection, or because they are looking for movies that are not in the catalog of the streaming platform. Netflix’s DVD rental has an estimated 1.5 million subscribers today.
In its article, Fortune interviewed people who, in 2022, are still using Netflix’s DVD subscription. Users are beginning to observe deterioration in quality of service, such as longer delays or damaged disks.
In any case, the idea that the end of Netflix’s DVD rental service could be near already saddens Marc Randolph, former CEO and co-founder of the company.
“Netflix’s DVD business was an integral part of who Netflix was and still is”did he declare. “It’s in the DNA of the company.”
