Netflix Movies

Netflix History

Movie rentals…through the mail? A concept at once novel and distinctly of-an-era, Netflix’s subscription DVD-by-mail service completely changed the way we watch movies. But the innovation didn’t stop there; Netflix has changed the game multiple times over the last two decades, becoming an entertainment behemoth in the process. Launched in 1997, Netflix was conceived as a unique entry into the home video sales and rental industry. Taking advantage of the convenience and speed of the internet, it allowed customers to select movies for home-viewing without having to make a trip to any brick-and-mortar establishment, whether that be a local mom-and-pop rental shop, or—the true rental titan of the time—Blockbuster. DVDs, a fresh recording format that also surfaced in 1997, were Netflix’s way in—the thin discs could be mailed cheaply, easily, and survive the kind of travel that would threaten the integrity of the clunkier, more delicate VHS tape.

They were clearly onto something, because Jeff Bezos and Amazon made an offer to acquire Netflix. Netflix declined, and over the next few years pinpointed key tenets of what would make their service especially attractive: monthly flat fees, unlimited rentals, and no due dates, late fees, or shipping and handling charges. More power to the customer—and unmatched ease!

But although they’d figured out a winning system, Netflix was still fledgling, and—as with any life-changing technology—convincing the general public to completely change they way they consume their favorite entertainment content would take time. Time that, as it would turn out, they really didn’t have: In 2000, the tech bubble hit Netflix with losses so severe that they tried selling the company to Blockbuster for $50 million. But, this time, it was Blockbuster that declined the deal (whoops!). 

And in 2007, Netflix launched its first streaming service. At the time, this meant customers had access to only an additional 1,000 titles to the 70,000 then available for DVD rental, and download speeds were so low that most people still preferred hard copy rentals. But tech doesn’t stroll—it sprints. Fast-forward to 2009, and Netflix would see more titles streamed through its streaming service than shipped out on DVDs. Whoa.

More About Netflix Original 

Netflix has ballooned into a red giant amongst an entirely new solar system of streaming platforms. DVDs? What even are those? Blockbuster? A figment of nostalgia on which your millennial cousins lament with dewy eyes. And what happens when all the conquering is done? Creation: Netflix, doesn’t just distribute movies and TV shows—it makes its own. And the content truly contends: Films like The Irishman, Marriage Story, and Roma have reached Academy Award-level acclaim. TV shows like Orange Is The New Black, Arrested Development, Black Mirror, Squid Game and Stranger Things keep fans coming back month after month, year after year. And true crime docs? Oh, there are plenty.

Although we can’t possibly know what the future holds, we do know this: Netflix is a consummate surfer of the waves of change.

 

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