New York politician wants Netflix to bring back its DVD-by-mail service

[Alfonso Maruccia]

DVD Revival: Netflix shut down its physical media business years ago, but nostalgia for the once-popular service still lingers. In fact, one Republican lawmaker is now urging the company to bring back DVD delivery – at least, in some limited capacity.

Netflix mailed its final DVDs in 2023, ending a 25-year run that began with Tim Burton's Beetlejuice as the first disc ever shipped. Now, Staten Island Councilmember Frank Morano wants to bring the red envelopes back.

In a letter to Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos, Morano acknowledged the niche market DVDs served in recent years. Physical discs, he argued, provided a "lifeline" to cinema for elderly customers and those wary of new technology.

Streaming is a great way to consume films and TV series, but it's not everything, Morano wrote. For people without smart TVs or apps, DVDs offer a simple way to stay connected to entertainment. He also pointed out that some classic titles never made it to streaming platforms and remain exclusive to DVD or other physical formats.

Physical discs also offered a lifeline to consumers with limited internet access, the letter continues. Unlike streaming, DVDs and Blu-ray discs are immune to common online frustrations like buffering or data caps. Netflix's DVD-by-mail service was one of the most accessible forms of entertainment in America – you only needed a mailing address to get a steady supply of films.

Ending the mail service "may have made sense to accountants, but to ordinary people, it felt like the curtain closed on an era that still had a full house applauding," Morano said.

His letter proposes a cost-conscious way to revive the service by streamlining subscriptions around the specific needs of local communities. Morano urges Netflix leadership to reconsider its reliance on algorithms, arguing that human choices – not just data models – should shape how people experience entertainment.

Realistically, Netflix has no obligation to heed Morano's request, and the odds of a DVD revival in 2025 are slim. Still, the nostalgia is understandable. Physical media remains a small but dedicated market, with studios continuing to release new titles on disc.

Personally, part of my budget disappears every month thanks to Amazon's relentless suggestions – usually some fancy steelbook edition or the first Ultra HD release of an obscure horror flick I forgot about years ago.

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New York politician wants Netflix to bring back its DVD-by-mail service

 

[Kashim]

Yes, let's bring back horse drawn carriages and old oil lamps too.

 

[candle86]

Yes, let's bring back horse drawn carriages and old oil lamps too.

Oil lamps are awesome when the power goes out I have kerosene and oil lamps, I can continue to function like a normal person, at night you know I can read a book You're going to be tied to your batteries and flashlight of course.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Physical media still produces clearer video and higher quality audio then any steaming service.

 

[ScottSoapbox]

Libraries have DVDs and they are free.

 

[Neatfeatguy]

I'm all for physical media. I used the Netflix DVD sub until maybe around 2015 or so when I found better use for getting DVDs through Redbox.

Majority of people seem to think that "instant gratification" is the best way to handle things, such as streaming. What they're not understanding is their willingness to give up their rights as a consumer for their instant gratification. When you're streaming or you "buy" a movie on a streaming service such as Prime, you don't own the movie to use when you want, where you want and how you want because it can be taken away from you at any time. Feel free to try and argue it, but it has happened before where a streaming service has lost IP rights to shows/movies and those people that paid money to "own" them on said service lost access to them.

You are only renting, never owning.

The hard part with this politician that wants physical media to come back through Netflix is difficult to do. Market studies have shown that physical media has taken a big drop off in terms of revenue over the years. According to Digital Entertainment Group, physical media sales fell below $1B in 2024, a 23% YoY decline, while subscription streaming rose roughly the same percentage over the same period.

You have companies such as Best Buy that officially announced that they were dropping physical media (movies) by the start of 2024.

While Target hasn't officially stopped carrying DVDs, the amount they carry has taken a significant hit in most store locations to being very small amount carried (mostly just new releases or holiday sale times such as Christmas they could see a spike in movies they carry) to some locations (such as the one about 7 minutes from my home) not carrying DVDs at all. You can still buy DVDs/Blu-Rays online from them, but the instore inventory is very limited or gone.

Wal-Mart still carries movies at their stores, but the selection has dwindled.

Cause and effect:
Cause - people stream more now and studios put less and less out on physical media.
Effect - hard to get physical copies, especially of newer content and old copies are not being replaced.

I like physical media, it allows me to do what I want, when I want with it. The ignorant people will chime in and say, "but, but, but you don't own the IP on the disc!". I have to let them know to stop running their mouths and understand that I never said I own the content on the disc, I just own the disc. I can back up the disc and use it how I want, when I want.

 

[wiyosaya]

IMO, if anyone wants to "rent" physical media, many library systems in the US have extensive collections of DVD, Blu-Ray, and UHD Blu-ray (their UHD collections are growing), CD, etc. Typically you can either borrow them for free, or for a very small fraction of what Netflix of any other physical media rental service used to charge. The most I have to pay from my library is $0.50 for up to three-weeks borrowing the disc. They also are quick to get the latest releases, too.

Why would anyone want to go back to the "pay lots of money for a physical media rental" model when your local library probably has a better collection for none to very little cost?

 

[Squid Surprise]

Regardless of whether it’s a good idea or bad (I think it’s bad, and I suspect the vast majority agree with me), what business does a politician have in this? Could he simply be trying to make a name for himself to drum up some votes… nah…. Couldn’t be…

 

[TheBigT42]

Physical media still produces clearer video and higher quality audio then any steaming service.

And they can easily be saved onto other physical media too.

 

[New Day]

Gross. Back in the late eighties I wanted a multi-disc system, at least, but ideally on-demand for everything. Getting my first computer early this century I have extraordinarily eschewed and avoided physical media.

 

[airbornex]

The problem is, who still owns a working DVD player that isn’t buried in their parents’ garage?

 

[bclaymiles]

Physical media still produces clearer video and higher quality audio then any steaming service.

What are your metrics? So a physical DVD (480P) will be clearer and have better quality than a 4K stream? How?

 

[Squid Surprise]

What are your metrics? So a physical DVD (480P) will be clearer and have better quality than a 4K stream? How?

You have to compare like to like… but few stream in 480p… 4K blu-ray WILL be superior to a 4K stream… as a normal blu-ray will be superior to a 1080p stream.

 

[Neatfeatguy]

The problem is, who still owns a working DVD player that isn’t buried in their parents’ garage?

DVD players aren't that old and you can still freely purchase them and better yet, get a blu-ray player that plays both blu-rays and DVDs! Or you can even purchase internal or external disc players for your PC. You can even get consoles that still play discs - though I hear Playstation 5 Pro phased out the option for a disc and if you want to play physical then you need to spend money on an external drive. Isn't that nice of Sony? Drop a physical disc drive from the console and still charge $250 more than what the disc drive PS5 retailed for. Awesome!

The problem is, why are people so lazy to swap out a disc? If they can't just push a button to make it happen then it's not good enough for them anymore. I'll happily swap discs if that means I have control of my media, but as I do own discs I've paid for I can legally make a digital copy of them for my personal use and I have. I've got all my media backed up digitally so I can stream it on Plex when I want, where I want. But if I'm at home and I really wanted to, I could watch my stuff on a dvd player or even my PS3 or on my PC.

After all that, to answer your question, a lot of people still have DVD players of some sort. If you were to ask who still owns a working VHS player that isn't buried in their parent's garage, I'm sure you'd only see a few select hands go up. As for me, yes, I do have a working VHS player still, along with around 60 VHS tapes.

 

[bclaymiles]

Libraries have DVDs and they are free.

As well, you can find vast numbers of DVD's and blu-ray disk on ebay with ease.

 

[BuckarooBonzaii]

The good old days of renting and ripping.

 

[lonetac]

The problem is, who still owns a working DVD player that isn’t buried in their parents’ garage?

was just going to say this. I dont even have a dvd player in my house. Can the ps5 play dvd's? I have the disk version, maybe that can.

 

[Squid Surprise]

was just going to say this. I dont even have a dvd player in my house. Can the ps5 play dvd's? I have the disk version, maybe that can.

If it can play Blu-ray, it can play DVD… not sure why anyone would want a DVD when they could have Blu-ray or 4k Blu-ray ….

My assumption would be if netflix ever brought back physical media, it would be Blu-ray - not dvd.

 

[monkeylove]

They're popular in many parts of the world because most people live on only a few dollars a day.

 

[Loadedaxe]

The DVD era is over. Netflix killed it because hardly anyone used it, and the idea they’d sink money back into warehouses, postage, and scratched discs in 2025 is fantasy.

Yes, some people still want physical media, but that’s a niche market, better served by collectors, libraries, or boutique rental outfits.

Netflix isn’t coming back to it, and honestly, they shouldn’t.

 

[jeffbert]

I borrowed 2200+ DVDs from NF during my decades-long membership.

Pros: DVDs have /can have extras; try finding these on streaming.

Cons: some are double-sided, & usually covered with scratches. I had to swap the discs from the internal to the external drives & back again. Usually was able to watch the program in its entirety, or close to it. It was annoying, though.

NF gave away DVDs two years ago; just increase your subscription to 8 out, and you may keep them once NF says you may. It is not likely to re-enter the disc business, unless there is enough money in it to yield a hefty profit. Oh, the selection it offered! No neighborhood library could even come close! I could get 50s trashy Sci-fi or current movies, in a matter of 2-3 days!

I even had Blockbuster's DVD by mail in addition to NF! It was nowhere near as good as NF, though. I never have owned a TV; I do stream from Xfinity & Prime; my monitor has an HDMI connection; though I prefer to stream.

 

[Squid Surprise]

I borrowed 2200+ DVDs from NF during my decades-long membership.

Pros: DVDs have /can have extras; try finding these on streaming.

Cons: some are double-sided, & usually covered with scratches. I had to swap the discs from the internal to the external drives & back again. Usually was able to watch the program in its entirety, or close to it. It was annoying, though.

NF gave away DVDs two years ago; just increase your subscription to 8 out, and you may keep them once NF says you may. It is not likely to re-enter the disc business, unless there is enough money in it to yield a hefty profit. Oh, the selection it offered! No neighborhood library could even come close! I could get 50s trashy Sci-fi or current movies, in a matter of 2-3 days!

I even had Blockbuster's DVD by mail in addition to NF! It was nowhere near as good as NF, though. I never have owned a TV; I do stream from Xfinity & Prime; my monitor has an HDMI connection; though I prefer to stream.

If you acquire your digital copies through “certain means”, you can get all the extras… and you can get them within a few minutes (depending on your internet connection). There are 0 scratches and you can even get the international versions not the ones locked to your region…

 

[jeffbert]

If you acquire your digital copies through “certain means”, you can get all the extras… and you can get them within a few minutes (depending on your internet connection). There are 0 scratches and you can even get the international versions not the ones locked to your region…

I have a program that bypasses the region codes; but am not so interested as I was before. Retired though I am, I just do not watch movies as much as I did. I had 1 NF DVD at home for several months, before actually watching it.