SEPTEMBER 28, 2023:
UNDATED (AP)- The curtain is finally coming down on Netflix’s once-iconic DVD-by-mail service, a quarter century after the birth of a concept that obliterated Blockbuster video stores while providing a springboard into video streaming that has transformed entertainment. The DVD service that has been steadily shrinking in the shadow of Netflix’s video streaming service will shut down after its five remaining distribution centers mail out their final discs Friday (Sept. 29, 2023) to the fewer than 1 million remaining subscribers. It marks the end of a service that began when a first-class stamp cost 32 cents, less than half today’s price, and went on make its red-and-white envelopes a welcome sight in mailboxes.
APRIL 19, 2023:
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Netflix is poised to shut down the DVD-by-mail rental service that set the stage for its trailblazing video streaming service. The move will end an era that began a quarter century ago when delivering discs through the mail was considered a revolutionary concept. The DVD service still delivers films and TV shows in the red-and-white envelopes that once served as Netflix’s emblem. But the California company says it plans to mail its final discs on September 29, 2023. Netflix ended last year with nearly 231 million worldwide subscribers to its video streaming service. It stopped disclosing how many people still pay for DVD-by-mail delivery years ago as that part its business steadily shrank.
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