Netflix’s DVD business, DVD.com, is still alive and profitable, by a small margin.
Netflix split the DVD division from the streaming service in 2011. The company has barely more than 3 million DVD subscribers, compared to 125 million streaming subscribers. But the company has no reason to kill that business yet, as it still earns money: it showed an operating profit of $56 million on $99 million in revenue in the first quarter of 2018.
The service has fans because it works even in areas with bad network connectivity, and has a much bigger selection: about 100,000 DVDs versus only 5,600 titles or so for the streaming service.
DVD plans range from $5 to $12 a month, while streaming plans are $8-$14 a month. One former DVD.com employee admitted that some people may still be paying for the DVD service without even knowing it because they never order DVDs.
At the peak, there were 50 distribution centers. Now only 17 remain in the U.S. The company recently released footage of a buzzing DVD distribution center for the service’s 20th anniversary.
