Netflix to end DVD-by-mail business
Business
Netflix will ship the last discs on Sept. 29
(Reuters) - Netflix Inc. is winding down its DVD-by-mail business, the company said in a blog post on Tuesday, ending the service it started around 25 years ago.
The company said its DVD rental business had been shrinking and it will not be able to continue to offer quality service. Netflix will ship the last discs on Sept. 29.
"Those iconic red envelopes changed the way people watched shows and movies at home - and they paved the way for the shift to streaming," Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos said in a blog post announcing the DVD service had entered its "final season."
It was a calculated risk that the nascent DVD player, which went on sale for the first time in the U.S. in 1997, would catch on with the consumer. The service launched in 1998 with fewer than 1,000 titles, according to Randolph's account.
It was the first time Netflix's gamble on an emerging technology allowed it to challenge an entrenched competitor. Rival Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy in 2010.
When Netflix attempted in 2011 to split its DVD rental business from online streaming into a separate service called Qwikster, it provoked howls of protest from consumers. The plan was ultimately scrapped.
