Saturday, January 29, 2022

Netflix DVD-by-mail service still kicking


Netflix’s DVD-by-mail business saw sales decline faster in 2021 than in the two prior years.
The U.S.-only service generated $182 million in revenue last year. But that was down 24% from the prior year. Revenue in the DVD business declined 19% in 2020 and the same percentage in 2019.
That’s not surprising considering that the streaming video giant doesn’t promote its legacy DVD service anymore. It barely merits a footnote in the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. But as long as it’s profitable, Netflix will continue to operate the business.
I love the Netflix DVD service, but I’m among a dwindling subscriber base.
And with many movies not being released on disc anymore, I’m worried about the physical media itself, including DVDs and Blu-ray Discs.
Consider this, my Netflix DVD queue now has 42 movies in it. But my “saved” queue of movies not yet available on the service is up to 65 titles. Many of those may never be released or are permanently out of print.
And my “saved” queue only includes movies that Netflix has indexed on its website. There are dozens more movies I’ve searched for on the service but just aren’t listed.

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