By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man – @tvanswerman
TV Answer Man, do you know anything about Netflix providing 10 free discs to DVD subscribers? I thought they were going out of business. — Clark, Madison, Wisconsin.
Clark, Netflix announced last April that it will discontinue its DVD/Blu-ray mail rental business after 25 years. The little red envelope put Netflix on the map, but subscribers have fallen to under two million, not enough to keep the side business afloat. (Netflix has a streaming business now, in case you haven’t heard.) The last disc to ship will be September 29, the company says.
But Collider reports that Netflix has one big surprise left before it closes shop for the disc biz. The company has sent an e-mail to disc subscribers offering up to 10 free disc rentals if they opt in before August 29. The subscribers have to click on a link in the email to opt in for the 10 extras. “After 25 years of movies in the mail, we’re approaching the end of our final season,” the email says. “We really appreciate that you’re sharing movie nights with us until the last day. Let’s have some fun for our finale!”
The 10 discs will come from each subscriber’s queue. If you have less than 10 discs in your queue, you’ll get those. Netflix cautions that supplies are limited and the final shipping date for all discs is September 29. Plus, you have to return the discs by October 27 so they are not free. They are rentals just like any other. (By the way, you do not need to take any action to cancel your disc subscription when the DVD rental biz ends. After the final shipping date, your DVD subscription will be automatically canceled.)
Clark, hope that helps. Happy viewing and stay safe!
Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
— Phillip Swann
@tvanswerman
