Netflix Cuts a Beloved Service, Disappointing Loyal Fans Nationwide
It no longer makes sense for the business's bottom line.
By Amanda Breen •
For most of us, DVDs are a relic from a pre-streaming past.
Now, Netflix seems to agree: The streamer, which has mailed subscribers discs of movies and TV shows for 25 years, announced Tuesday it will discontinue the service on September 29 — and people aren't happy, The Washington Post reported.
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Neftlix's DVD service boasted approximately 20 million subscribers at the height of its popularity in 2010, The New York Times reported. That base has dwindled substantially since; Netflix no longer even tracks those numbers, per the outlet.
The streamer's DVD holdouts include those who just prefer watching physical DVDs, seek harder-to-find titles or have unreliable internet connections.
"Just getting better internet is not an option," 38-year-old Jeanine Wainscott told The Washington Post, "and that's a reality for a lot of people. People who live in big cities don't always realize that."
Most recently, a DVD subscription for one mailed disc at a time cost $9.99 per month, or up to $19.99 for three at a time.
Related: Netflix Layoffs Explained, Nearly 300 Employees' Jobs Cut
But, more than 5 billion mailed red envelopes later, the service no longer makes sense for Netflix's bottom line. "Our goal has always been to provide the best service for our members but as the DVD business continues to shrink that's going to become increasingly hard," the company said in its Q1 earnings release.
