GameFly, Redbox ready to carry the DVD flag after Netflix surrenders

When Netflix announced an end to its DVD-by-mail service, most media reports mentioned Redbox as a beneficiary. But what about GameFly?
Redbox is a much larger operation, offering more than 34,000 self-service DVD rental kiosks nationwide. Its kiosks offer a great option for people who live near them. But for people who prefer a DVD-by-mail service, GameFly offers an alternative.
GameFly is primarily a video game rental service but also offers movies by mail. It has two plans for DVDs and Blu-ray Discs: one disc at a time for $8.95 per month and two discs at a time for $13.95 per month. It also offers 4K Ultra High Definition disc plans, with one disc at a time for $13.95 per month and two discs at a time for $18.95 per month.
GameFly’s website lists 2,300 discs available for rental, mostly major Hollywood releases.
GameFly has touted its movie service on social media since Netflix’s announcement. But I wonder if they’re planning any other initiatives to capture some of the Netflix DVD subscribers who will be displaced this fall?
We’ll see.

Related articles:

Unanswered questions as Netflix ends DVD-by-mail rental business (April 22, 2023)

When will Netflix stop adding new releases to its DVD inventory? (April 30, 2023)

When will Netflix stop adding new releases to its DVD inventory?

Netflix’s DVD-by-mail rental service will send out its final discs to customers on Friday Sept. 29. But I wonder how long the service will keep adding new release movies to its inventory.
For now, the service is adding current theatrical films to its listed movies. For instance, it has put recently released movies like “Evil Dead Rise” and “The Covenant” in its listings. It also is adding upcoming releases like “Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3.” But whether it buys copies of those movies isn’t guaranteed.
Between now and the end of September, I’m going to burn through my rental queue on DVD.com. My queue currently has 40 titles. That doesn’t include new releases that will occur between now and then.
A good number of those movies aren’t available from any subscription streaming services, but only can be rented or purchased digitally.
Others like “The King and I” (1956), “The Killers” (1964) and “White Dog” (1982) aren’t available online in any form.
Netflix DVDs were always a good hedge against the spotty availability of movies on streaming services. But now that option is going away.
You can’t blame Netflix for ending its DVD service. People prefer the immediacy of streaming to having to manage physical media. And movie studios are releasing fewer movies on disc now.
My Netflix “saved” queue of movies that currently are not available on disc includes 68 titles. Some are older catalog movies that are out of print, but many are independent and foreign films that are bypassing physical media entirely.
Over the next six months, it will be interesting to see which new-release DVDs Netflix adds to its library.
My guess is that it will add only the big Hollywood releases. And in limited quantities at that.

Photo: Netflix envelope by Marit and Toomas Hinnosaar (via Creative Commons).

Unanswered questions as Netflix ends DVD-by-mail rental business

Internet television network Netflix announced April 18 that it will end its U.S.-only DVD-by-mail rental service this fall. But the announcement left subscribers and industry watchers with a few unanswered questions.
Netflix’s decision to end its legacy service after 25 years was not surprising, given the company’s focus on streaming video. Since its pivot to online video, Netflix has done no promotion of its DVD service, other than through a modest social media presence.
Netflix declined to say how many subscribers the DVD service now has. Estimates put the subscriber count at roughly 1 million.
Last year, the DVD business generated $145.7 million in revenue, or less than half of 1% of Netflix’s total revenue. It was literally a rounding error for the company.
Faced with a declining user base and diminished economics, Netflix figured the time was right to pull the plug. (Also, Netflix co-founder and longtime chief executive Reed Hastings stepped down as co-CEO in January. His successors were likely less emotionally attached to the legacy business.)
But what’s going to happen to its inventory of thousands of movies and episodic TV series on DVD and high-definition Blu-ray Disc? Netflix won’t say.
The parent company of Redbox, operators of DVD rental kiosks, reportedly tried to buy Netflix’s DVD operations several times but its offers were ignored.
I suspect that Netflix didn’t want to sell the business to a competitor, which might be able to revitalize it through marketing and promotion.
My hope is that Netflix doesn’t trash of its inventory of DVDs. That would be environmentally negative. They could auction off the movies (to Redbox, GameFly or others) or even donate the movies to a library. They still have value.
Netflix will ship its final discs to subscribers on Sept. 29. It will continue to accept returns until Oct. 27, the company said.

Related articles:

Why Netflix Hit Eject on DVDs (The Wall Street Journal; April 21, 2023)

Netflix Is Mailing Its Last DVD. The Die-Hards Are in Mourning. (The Wall Street Journal; April 20, 2023)

No Room for Nostalgia: Netflix Ejects DVD Business (Statista; April 20, 2023)

Redbox Owner Interested in Buying Netflix’s DVD Business (The Hollywood Reporter; April 19, 2023)

By Killing DVD Rentals, Netflix Is Sending an Elitist Message to Middle America (Media Play News; April 19, 2023)

Missing Movies: Many movies are unavailable for streaming, rental or purchase

The internet promised movie audiences that they would have access to the history of cinema with the click of a button. Yet despite the growth of subscription streaming video and transactional video-on-demand services, many movies are not available online in any form. Also, many of these films are not available for purchase on DVD or Blu-ray Disc.
Cinephiles have taken notice and are complaining about the failed promise of digital content when it comes to video entertainment.
One group, called Missing Movies, is drawing attention to the problem and working to solve it. It has put together a list of 101 prominent “missing movies.” (See articles by Letterboxd and Media Play News.)
Here are some of the movies on the Missing Movies list:

1984 (1956)
American Hot Wax (1978)
Angels and Insects (1995)
Dogma (1999)
Flirting (1991)
Girlfight (2000)
I Shot Andy Warhol (1996)
Porgy and Bess (1959)
Sleuth (1972)
Strange Days (1995)
Terror in the City (1964)
The Cardinal (1963)
The Doom Generation (1995)
The Heartbreak Kid (1972)
The Sure Thing (1985)
Union City (1980)
W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings (1975)

The list of 101 movies is just scratching the surface. Many more movies are unavailable in any form for consumers.
Last year, I reported that 15% of the American Film Institute’s 180 Greatest Movie Musicals were not available for streaming, digital purchase, or online rental. I also reported that 15% of Paste Magazine’s list of the 100 best film noirs were not available online in any form.
On top of that, I wrote that films not available include favorites from directors Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson and more.
Hopefully the Missing Movies organization can get more of these movies available for digital distribution.
Fingers crossed!

Related articles:

Movies And Shows You Can Only Watch If You Own The Physical Copy (Looper; April 8, 2023)

6 ’80s Movies You Can’t Watch Anywhere (Best Life; Jan. 17, 2023)

Photo: Artwork from Missing Movies. (Missing Movies)

E3 2023 canceled; Video game show unlikely to return

Organizers of the once-annual Electronic Entertainment Expo last week canceled E3 2023 amid a lack of interest by major video game publishers. The last physical E3 conference was held in 2019.
It’s safe to say that E3 is dead now. The video game conference has outlived its usefulness to the industry. Put it in the same category of defunct tech conferences as Comdex and Internet World.
The major video game publishers and console makers are able to get more bang for the buck by holding online events. Some even will hold their own physical events for their hardcore fans.
E3 was a big deal when retail sales of video games on physical media dominated. But the shift to online downloads and streaming took away much of E3’s reason for being as a trade show.
Also, video game fans and media have split into camps based on their favorite consoles and types of games. They aren’t united by video gaming overall or a conference to celebrate the entire ecosystem.
CES, formerly the Consumer Electronics Show, is picking up much of the hardware side of E3.
I have good memories of attending E3 over the years. But its time has come and gone.

Related articles:

E3 2023 is cancelled. ESA tells us why (GamesIndustry.biz; March 30, 2023)

E3 2023 has been canceled (The Verge; March 30, 2023)

E3 Gaming Expo Cancels 2023 Event (Variety; March 30, 2023)