5.2 Billion discs later Netflix ends its DVD-by-mail business

Netflix is shutting down its DVD by mail business after 25 years. In a blog post Netflix said that its DVD rental business had been shrinking and it will not be able to continue to offer quality service. So far it has sent out 5.2 billion discs across the world

Netflix will ship the last discs on September 29. Meanwhile, Netflix has recorded net 1.75 million paid streaming subscribers in the first three months of 2023.

Before its entry into the streaming business Netflix's business largely revolved around sending DVDs through the mail in its iconic red-and-white envelopes. As per Economic Times, 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.

Netflix roughly had about 20 million subscribers to its DVD business in 2010. The DVD business was launched in 1998, a year after DVD player went on sale for the first time in the U.S. The business started with fewer than 1000 titles