Latest Netflix cancellation is a surprise to millions – but not what you'd expect

Lately it's not much of a surprise to read the words 'Netflix cancels' followed by any number of show titles. My colleague wrote about Every Netflix Show Cancelled In 2023 So Far for the inside info on that. The company's behaviour has been enough to see millions of subscribers cancel over recent years (here's how-to cancel Netflix if you need such assistance). 

But, no, it's not one of those outlined 2023 shows – and I do encourage you to check out the Top 3 New Shows On Netflix and The 3 Best New Movies on Netflix for April 2023 – but a rather more long-standing service that Netflix has revealed is coming to a close in 2023. 

So what am I talking about? Netflix is calling time on its DVD delivery service. That's right: the service you more than likely didn't even know was still operational (because, in the UK at least, it hasn't been for many years). But, for some in the USA, the delivery of iconic 'red envelopes' has been a staple of Netflix's DVD-by-mail service. Netflix's co-CEO, Ted Sarandos, said in a statement that DVD.com will send out its final discs on 29 September 2023. 

I can remember the whole DVD-by-mail service in its heydey. Lovefilm, a then Netflix rival in the UK, offered effectively the same product, including videogames. And Amazon fully acquired that service 2011. Around the same time the streaming wars really began to hot up, with major investment in original content (Netflix's Lillyhammer commenced in 2012; Amazon Studios was producing content by 2013), so I can appreciate the step-change it brought about. 

It does make me sad, though, that physical media is seeing such a decline. As T3's sister site, What Hi-Fi, covered in early 2022: there's been close to 20% decline year on year. So it's no surprise. And yet when I think about the best Blu-ray players and just how incredible 4K Blu-ray movies look on, say, one of the best OLED TVs going, those simply streaming will never get the same kind of quality. 

So for those who still use Netflix's DVD-by-mail service, it's time to wave goodbye. You can always still buy physical media, I suppose, though it will cost you a small fortune. That Netflix subscription is likely your best solution, if you've got stable enough internet to support it, of course...