Sad to See DVD Netflix Go

I knew it was coming. I just didn’t think it would be this soon. I don’t like that it had to be this way, but DVD Netflix will ship its last disc on September 29, 2023.

The reason given is that the DVD market is shrinking, and the company didn’t want to compromise the depth and variety of its offerings. True, storage discs, in general, probably aren’t being produced as much anymore. In addition, too few people love movies enough to wait a few days to watch one, and most don’t realize the benefits of renting a physical DVD or Blu-ray. These benefits include a library vaster than any of today’s streaming services, trailers that provide suggestions for future watching, and extras, such as director and actor interviews, videos on how the movie was made, blooper reels, and more.

Sigh. I can remember when Netflix was DVD only, and it seemed unfathomable that one could go on the Internet and add movie titles to something called a “queue.” I asked my friend more than once, “Tell me how that works again?” Just days after adding a title to the queue, the movie appeared in the customer’s mailbox. How could these discs get across the miles without breaking, I wondered. They were only tucked in red envelopes, no cardboard to protect them. 

In 2009, I finally joined Netflix, and I felt so cool. The service was incredibly cheap back then, and numerous distribution centers had popped up around the country. It seemed that as soon as you placed your return DVD in the mail, a new one was on its way. 

In 2018, while I was fortunate to be a top influencer for DVD Netflix, I toured a distribution facility in Burbank, CA. Did you know that the sorting technology and machinery is modeled after the postal service? And those thin, red envelopes? They were good enough, because in the 14 years I’ve been a member, and the nearly 1,000 movies I’ve rented, only four came to me damaged.

Unfortunately, with the instant gratification of streaming, the DVD side of Netflix was doomed. The streaming side was so profitable, Netflix couldn’t be bothered with keeping the DVD pulse strong. The company tried to spin the DVD service off and call it something else, but that failed miserably. So, they formed a separate division, DVD.com (DVD Netflix). It felt like they put DVD Netflix in a room, turned out the light, closed the door, and every so often, tossed in a cracker as they milked the cow until she dried up. 

I watched as DVD Netflix was treated as the embarrassing, poor relative that doesn’t quite fit in with the favorite kids. It seemed to me that very little was invested in the company, and instead of communicating a really cool niche product, they starved the marketing department. Members of the public forgot they could still rent physical discs. I remember seeing social media posts that reminisced about the good old days, when red envelopes showed up in their mailboxes. 

Gradually, visionary DVD Netflix people were let go. The influencer program, which I had really enjoyed, was discontinued. Distribution centers quietly closed. Movies took longer to receive. The catalogue got smaller with the slowing of acquisitions and the attrition of unpopular or old discs. More movies in my own queue were flagged, “short wait” or “long wait.” The list in the “saved” section of my queue grew. 

Here’s what I wish.

I wish I had the money to buy DVD Netflix, rename it, and turn it into a niche company for people who truly love movies and don’t mind waiting a few days to watch what really interests them. I’d start a community where people could discuss the movies they love and learn about more movies that might interest them. The marketing people at DVD Netflix tried hard to do this with the DVD Nation program and Twitter chats. They invited bloggers, like me, to write for their “Inside the Envelope.”

What’s in the future for the DVDs themselves? Some suggest they be donated to libraries. I doubt that will happen. In 2018, as I toured the Burbank facility and asked what was going to happen to the skids piled high with trays of retired DVDs, I was told they would be shredded because of licenses.

Companies like Redbox, Gamefly, and 3D Blue-Ray Rental still rent physical discs, but their catalogues are much smaller than what remains at DVD Netflix. One of them would be very wise to try to broker a deal for the DVD Netflix discs and equipment, if the license issues can be worked out. Maybe some of the people, who gave so much of themselves trying to save a ship that was being torpedoed by the parent company, could lead the way.

If you look at the comments on any social media right now, you’ll see an outpouring of affection for DVD Netflix. Heather Kelly writes about how people will miss the service in her Washington Post article, “Netflix will finally stop mailing DVDs. These people will miss them.” I was happy to be one of those interviewed for this article.

Well, I have 108 titles in my DVD Netflix queue right now. I won’t get them all watched before September 29th at the current turnaround rate, but I’ll enjoy as many as I can. I’ve gone through my list and moved the titles I really want to see to the top before they’re gone.

I sure am going to miss DVD Netflix.