Goodbye era: Netflix has sent its last DVDs and put an end to its postal service

When thinking about Netflix, most – if not all – would think of streaming giant Red N which focuses on many of its most popular movie and series titles. However, the company had a lesser-known branch operating in parallel, but he said goodbye to it on Friday.

This is a service Correspondence Of entertainment products in DVDIt was launched in 1997 by the company’s current CEO, Mark Randolph, and his friend and colleague Reed Hastings.

Nearly 25 years ago, Hastings decided to create Netflix — in that format — after popular movie rental company Blockbuster charged him $40 to return them. “Apollo 13” Six weeks late.

His discomfort was so great that it prompted him to create an innovation Subscription system This allowed customers to keep titles for as long as they wanted, and only once viewed would they be placed in a pre-paid envelope and returned.

“In 1998 we delivered the first DVD (…) For 25 years, we’ve redefined the way people watch movies and TV shows at home, and shared the excitement when they open their mailboxes with our iconic red envelopes.“, recalls the CEO joyfully.

However, this week the company made the decision to end this system that had been in place until then 16 million subscribers But recently, it has barely reached a million.

With the diversity of streaming platforms and the number of products on demandthe DVD alternative was only intended for nostalgic people who still had a player and would rather make room for its magic.

“That’s why we sent out the last envelopes this morning,” Hastings added, among the packages leaving distribution centers in California, Texas, Georgia and New Jersey.

Whoever receives it will be able to keep it as well as many that have been distributed among the most recent subscribers and will also receive up to 10 more DVDs as a farewell gift.

Although this service was initially run alongside live streaming, the launch of the latter soon overshadowed the other and forced entrepreneurs to spin off their businesses.

Thanks to this, the electronic platform was able to achieve 238 million customers Worldwide – only 42.5% in Latin America – and they generate income through… 31,500 US dollars Millions In one year, while the physicist barely raised $146 million In 2022.

It’s about “Bittersweet” closing.Though he admitted it was inevitable in these times, Randolph thought: “We knew this day would come, but the miracle is that it did not come 15 years ago.”.

The company stated in a narration of its activity that the first film sent by mail was the comedy film “Beetlejuice” It was the beginning of more than 5.2 billion films to follow.

Meanwhile, the most requested title was the American sports drama “impossible dream”A film starring Sandra Bullock, released in 2009. The film revolves around the life of a white family that takes in a homeless African-American boy.

(With information from AP and AFP)