Popular steaming service Netflix is set to to “wind down” its DVD rental service later this year, the company’s co-chief executive Ted Sarandos has announced.
The news comes after 25 years with Sarandos putting the change down to growth struggles. As a result, the streaming giant will be be shipping its final discs on September 29 of this year.
Netflix originally launched back in 1997, mailing DVDs of TV series and films to its subscribers as an alternative to video rental stores. The shift into streaming in 2007 upended the market and helped spark a revolution in how viewers consumed visual media at home.
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In a blog post titled “Netflix DVD – The Final Season”, Mr Sarandos hailed the “iconic red envelopes” as having “paved the way” for the company to move into streaming which is what they are known for today with hits such as Stranger Things, Bridgerton and Wednesday.
Last year, as reported by PA, Netflix announced a cheaper ad-supported subscription tier and began attempts to clamp down on customers sharing accounts with other households.
The decision came after they said they had lost subscribers amid competition and rising inflation putting pressure on household budgets across the UK.
Since the move, subscriber growth has improved, offering an early sign that the cheaper option is helping to attract subscribers in the face of competition from services such as Amazon Prime Video and Disney+.
“After an incredible 25-year run, we’ve decided to wind down DVD.com later this year,” Mr Sarandos wrote in a post on Tuesday.
He continued: “Our goal has always been to provide the best service for our members but as the business continues to shrink that’s going to become increasingly difficult.
“So we want to go out on a high, and will be shipping our final discs on September 29, 2023.”
He added: “Those iconic red envelopes changed the way people watched shows and movies at home — and they paved the way for the shift to streaming.
“We feel so privileged to have been able to share movie nights with our DVD members for so long, so proud of what our employees achieved and excited to continue pleasing entertainment fans for many more decades to come.
“To everyone who ever added a DVD to their queue or waited by the mailbox for a red envelope to arrive: thank you.”
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