Netflix Is Giving Away Free DVDs, Finally Ending Mail Delivery

Netflix may be the biggest streaming service in the world today, but for a decade before the company launched its streaming platform, its business was built on DVD deliveries. Designed to eliminate the need to drive to Blockbuster to pick up a movie, Netflix's DVD offerings made our homes feel that much closer to a real movie theater. 

Now, a quarter century after its introduction, Netflix is winding down its original business. But it isn't going quietly into the night. People who are still subscribed to the DVD delivery service will have the chance to get up to 10 movie discs from the company's library to keep forever for free. 

"After 25 years of movies in the mail, we're approaching the end of our final season," a message from the corporation to DVD customers read, per Parade. "We really appreciate that you're sharing movie nights with us until the last day. Let's have some fun for the finale!"

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Subscribers to the soon-to-be-shuttered service will have the change to get "up to 10 extra discs in [their] mailbox" with their next (and final) rentals. They have until Aug. 29 to decide, and the discs will be sent out by Sept. 29, the last shipping day ever for the service. After the last Netflix DVDs are mailed out by the end of next month, it will accept returns until Oct. 27. 

"From the beginning, our members loved the choice and control that direct-to-consumer entertainment offered: the wide variety of the titles and the ability to binge watch entire series,” Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos wrote in an April blog post announcing the end of the business, per Variety. Its DVD deliveries helped pave the way for original programming that dominates the platform today. 

With DVD and Blu-ray discs going the way of the dodo bird, it was only a matter of time before Netflix's iconic red envelopes would be going extinct too. The company admitted that it was becoming unsustainable, and rather than let the quality of their original business decline, they want to go out with a bang. 

"Our goal has always been to provide the best service for our members, but as the DVD business continues to shrink, that’s going to become increasingly difficult,” Netflix said on its site. According to the streaming giant, it has mailed out more than 5 billion DVD and Blu-ray discs across the US since 1998.

Who knows? DVDs may one day make a comeback as a "vintage" medium, much like how vinyl record sales continue to grow and eclipse CD sales today, so don't go rushing to clean out your DVD library just yet.