Netflix shutters DVD service
October 2, 2023
By Nik Roseveare
Streaming platform Netflix mailed out its last DVD in the US on September 29th, ending a 25 year service.
Netflix said that the first movie mailed out was the Tim Burton cult-comedy Beetlejuice, and that more than 5.2 billion DVDs have been sent out since then. The most-rented DVD was the sports drama The Blind Side. In 2009, amidst the height of popularity for the service, Netflix says that 12 million DVDs were being mailed per week. A record was set in 2011 when 4.9 million DVDs were shipped in one day.
In a company statement, Netflix said: “For 25 years, we redefined how people watched films and series at home, and shared the excitement as they opened their mailboxes to our iconic red envelopes. It’s the end of an era, but the DVD business built our foundation for the years to come – giving members unprecedented choice and control, a wide variety of titles to choose from and the freedom to watch as much as they want. Today, we wanted to take the opportunity to thank you for watching.”
“Thank you for loving our red envelopes, sharing countless movie nights with us at home and being part of our final season,” the company added.