Soon enough, we will have to completely rely on streaming services when we watch movies at home. Netflix will be shutting down its DVD rental service in a month after 25 years of operations, and you can get a disc as a souvenir since the company is letting renters keep their final shipment of DVDs.
A Memento of the Old Format
Rent a physical movie while you still can as Netflix will be shutting down its DVD rental service on September 29th this year, and make it a good one since the company will let you keep it. According to Netflix, you can "enjoy your final shipments as long as you like."
Since the DVD subscription platform will be no more in a couple of weeks, the company won't really be needing the disc anymore. With that being said, there will be no additional charges when you don't return them after Netflix officially shuts down the service.
If you aren't a subscriber yet, you have until August 29 to do so. In fact, there's a chance that you'll get more than what you rented, as reported by Gizmodo. Subscribers can get up to 10 extra discs inside the red envelope.
The freebies are not a guarantee, but the company says that it's "still worth giving it a shot." The promotion states: "Let's have some fun for our finale! The 'fun' is in seeing just how many discs arrive," adding that the number of discs that will arrive will be random.
While the number of discs is up to chance, the movies are not. Netflix will send movies based on the movies that are listed in the subscriber's streaming service, so you might want to add a couple to your list so the company will know what you want to receive.
Even though a DVD would make a good memento, you might want to keep the envelope as well. Soon enough, you won't be seeing any more of it. It would make for a cool keepsake once the company stops sending them out.
Why is Netflix Shutting Down Its DVD Rental Service?
It's quite simple. People are no longer using DVDs and are instead turning to streaming services to watch movies and shows. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said that their goal has always been to provide the best service for their members, but the shrinking business has made that difficult.
The DVD rental service only made up .5% of the company's non-streaming revenue in 2021, which had dropped to only $150 million last in the previous year. It has come to a point where shipping the discs is now costing the company more than its earning.
In its 25 years of service since 1998, Netflix managed to ship out over 5.2 billion DVDs. Its selection included 20 main genres and 530 subgenres, allowing its 40 million unique subscribers a wide variety of content.
The first title it ever shipped was the comedy-horror movie "Beetlejuice" back on March 10th, 1998. The most popular title in the rental service was "The Blind Side," a once heartwarming movie that is now being questioned due to controversies.
