Netflix to stop sending out DVDs after 25 years


It's the end of an era for Netflix.
The company has announced it's officially ending its DVD rental business after more than two decades. "On September 29th, 2023, we will send out the last red envelope," Netflix said in a tweet. "It has been a true pleasure and honor to deliver movie nights to our wonderful members for 25 years."
Long before the rise of streaming, Netflix operated since 1998 as a service where subscribers could rent movies through the mail, and DVDs would arrive in a red envelope. It wasn't until 2007 that Netflix's streaming service launched.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But believe it or not, Netflix has maintained its DVD rental business all this time, though it now does so on DVD.com rather than the main Netflix site. The DVD service reportedly had more than two million subscribers as of 2019. In 2011, Netflix infamously announced plans to spin off its DVD business as Qwikster, but the idea was walked back after backlash.
On its DVD.com website, Netflix said "we've made the difficult decision to wind down" the service because "the DVD business continues to shrink." Discs will be shipped until the end of September, with returns accepted until the end of October. The decision comes after a challenging year for Netflix, which lost subscribers in 2022 for the first time in over a decade. On Tuesday, the company announced it added fewer subscribers than analysts expected.
"Those iconic red envelopes changed the way people watched shows and movies at home — and they paved the way for the shift to streaming," Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said, thanking "everyone who ever added a DVD to their queue or waited by the mailbox for a red envelope to arrive."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
September 6 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Saturday’s political cartoons include profiting from authoritarianism, and the National Guard entering the CDC
-
Should Britain withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights?
Talking Point With calls now coming from Labour grandees as well as Nigel Farage and the Tories, departure from the ECHR 'is starting to feel inevitable'
-
5 outspoken cartoons about Epstein survivors taking center stage
Cartoons Artists take on cover-ups, Trump surrounded, and more
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclub
Speed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's ills
Speed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, Stallone
Speed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
The best limited series of all time
the week recommends Trading cliffhangers and endless renewals for narrative closure
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's view
Speed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
The return of 'Wednesday,' an 'Alien' prequel and a dramatic retelling of the Amanda Knox trial all happening in August TV
the week recommends This month's new television releases include 'Alien: Earth,' 'The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox' and a new season of 'Wednesday'
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talk
Speed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year