Netflix is bidding farewell to their DVD rental service by offering subscribers the chance to get 10 free discs.
When Netflix announced in April that they would be shutting down their DVD rental service, many wondered, Wait, that was still an option? Once they got over that, a major wave of nostalgia began to hit, with former physical media subscribers probably wishing they still kept that option. Now, with the final discs hitting mailboxes on September 29th, Netflix has decided to give something back to some lucky subscribers, offering upwards of 10 surprise discs from your queue.
As per Collider, a recent Netflix email regarding their DVD service read, “After 25 years of movies in the mail, we’re approaching the end of our final season…We really appreciate that you’re sharing movie nights with us until the last day. Let’s have some fun for our finale!” So get that Jiffy Pop on the stove because so long as you opt in by August 29th, you have a shot at getting a collection of DVD surprises from Netflix this fall. Hey, it’s better than all these discs going to the landfill like the E.T. video game!
For the old school subscribers this is just another nail – albeit a rusty one – in the coffin that is physical media rental. And while many of us will continue to mourn the loss of Netflix’s DVD subscription service – even if we weren’t using it – it’s still pretty cool that they’re running such a promotion.
In their 25+-year history, Netflix has evolved into one of the biggest players in Hollywood. They may have started by shipping DVDs in now-iconic red envelopes, but they have since gone on to have the most subscribers of any streaming service (nearly 240 million) and proven serious competitors on the awards circuit with numerous Academy Award and Emmy wins.
Still, it feels like nothing will ever top the feeling of getting a Netflix DVD in the mailbox, especially since it pioneered the no late fees policy. You mean I can keep Hard Ticket to Hawaii for two months and not get charged Blockbuster-level fees? (In reality, the first three movies I got from Netflix were …And Justice for All, Mean Streets and Rashomon.)
Do you still subscribe to Netflix’s DVD service? If not, when did you switch solely to streaming?