End Of An Era Netflix Is Discontinuing Its DVDByMail Service

News Summary

  • That focus may have also contributed to the decision to close an operation that was becoming a financial drain.But the DVD service was once Netflix’s biggest money maker.Shortly before Netflix broke it off from video streaming in 2011, the DVD-by-mail service boasted more than 16 million subscribers.
  • Postal Service to deliver entertainment became woefully outdated.But the DVD-by-mail service still has die-hard fans who continue to subscribe because they treasure finding obscure movies that are aren’t widely available on video streaming.
  • The DVD service generated $145.7 million in revenue last year, which translated into somewhere between 1.1 million and 1.3 million subscribers, based on the average prices paid by customers.
  • The service’s history dates back to 1997 when Netflix co-founder Marc Randolph went to a post office in Santa Cruz, California, to mail a Patsy Cline compact disc to his friend and fellow co-founder Reed Hasting.
  • The growth of Netflix’s video streaming service has been slowing down over the past year, prompting management to put more emphasis on boosting profits.
  • That number has steadily dwindled and the service’s eventual demise became apparent as the idea of waiting for the U.S.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Netflix is poised to shut down the DVDbymail rental service that set the stage for its trailblazing video streaming service, ending an era that began a quarter century ago when d [+4168 chars]