Why Netflix won't sell its DVD business to Redbox

You may have heard that Netflix is shutting down its DVD business. That's kind of a big deal.

Netflix started as a DVD business, and did that for several years before they started a streaming line. Now, it's primarily a streaming business and DVDs are an afterthought.

With the recent news about Netflix getting out of the DVD business, some may have wondered by they don't sell the business to Redbox.

So, why don't they sell the business to Redbox?

TV Answer Man Phillip Swann was asked that very question recently, and explained it very well:

Why wouldn’t Netflix sell? Money is money, right? The unit is closing anyway so why not get a few more dollars from the old girl?

My guess is that Netflix believes that a Redbox sale would help boost the DVD business at a time when Netflix wants to keep the world focused exclusively on streaming. That is Netflix’s priority now. While the sale would bring in some money, the relatively small amount that Redbox would pay for less than two million subscribers is not worth it to Netflix. Putting another nail in the DVD category is more important.

That makes sense. Netflix must figure that what they'll make on streaming is more than what they'd get from selling the DVD business.

My Streaming Life hasn't included DVD rentals for a very long time. I've ripped DVDs I own and added them to my local video library, but actual DVDs from rental? Nope. I won't miss Netflix DVDs, not really. But I hate that those that use the service won't easily transfer to another service like Redbox.