Netflix By Mail Ends Its 25-Year Run

Once as ubiquitous as a Blockbuster plastic bag, the Netflix envelope defined the era between video cassettes and streaming. Subscribers to the disc-by-mail service were informed in April that the company will ship its last disc on September 29, 2023. The announcement, coming 25 years after Netflix gave new life to First Class Mail, was seismic but not surprising.

- MICHAEL ANTONOFF

Subscribers will receive their last monthly bill in August, and the company will accept returned discs until October 27. Mail subscriptions will be automatically canceled. Customers who stream will not be affected.

Netflix says that it will delete your queue, rental and shipping history, ratings, reviews and taste preferences. Preserved data will include your name and login, DVD billing history and charges for unreturned discs.

Netflix encouraged users to download their DVD history via https://dvd.netflix.com/Download. "As a keepsake of our time together, this personalized PDF contains your queue, rental history, ratings, and reviews." My own list contains nearly 3,000 titles.

Many subscribers took the news about the service's demise personally, some experiencing the five stages of grief. In my case, I'd been a customer ever since Marc Randolph, Netflix's co-founder and first CEO, dropped by Video Magazine (S&V's predecessor) in 1998 to promote the startup.

In the initial stage, Netflix offered à la carte discs from its single warehouse in Northern California. Competitors predicted its demise due to the unsustainable 10-day national rental turnaround and maintaining popular title inventory. Recognizing this, Netflix attempted to sell itself to Blockbuster for $50 million, but the offer was rejected.