In 1998, Netflix launched as a DVD rental service before establishing itself as a leader in streaming. The television industry was transformed by original series like Emily in Paris, Stranger Things, and Mindhunter.
The business has experienced financial difficulties recently, and Disney+ has supplanted it as the most widely used streaming service globally. Following Netflix's decision to stop encouraging password sharing online, many of its longtime subscribers canceled their subscriptions.
The renowned DVD-by-mail rentals through DVD.com have been discontinued by Netflix as part of its cost-cutting efforts after the company announced layoffs in March.
On September 29, its final DVDs will be delivered. As the business continues to contract, Netflix stated, "Our goal has always been to provide the best service for our members, but that's going to become increasingly difficult."
"Those recognizable red envelopes revolutionized home entertainment and helped make the transition to streaming possible. The huge variety of titles and the option to binge watch entire series were two things that our members immediately embraced about direct-to-consumer entertainment.
Also thanks to DVDs, we made our first venture into original programming with Sherrybaby and Zach Galifianakis Live at the Purple Onion, both from Red Envelope Entertainment.
"We feel so fortunate to have shared movie nights with our DVD members for so long, so proud of what our employees accomplished, and excited to continue entertaining fans for many more decades to come," the statement continued.
Statistics from the previous 25 years were published by Netflix to mark the service's anniversary. On March 10, 1998, Beetlejuice (1988) was the first DVD rented, while The Blind Side (2009) was the most often requested title. The business sent more than 5.2 billion DVDs to 40 million different subscribers over the course of over three decades.
Check Out More Stories!