Netflix claims roughly 65 million streaming users across 50 countries this year.

​Netflix plans on being a fully global empire by 2017, and seems to be popping up in new regions and countries overnight. The streaming service is releasing new originals on a monthly basis if not more often, and those series are being noticed by fans and critics alike.

But a piece of that empire long forgotten, DVDs mailed to customers, is an important part of Netflix’s overall domination.

According to The New York Times, it is Netflix’s ability to adapt to a changing marketplace that is the backbone of its success. It’s certainly had its pitfalls (trying to split into two separate companies for streaming and DVDs did not go well), which it quickly learned from and corrected.

But that correction was largely meant for the public. Behind the scenes at the company, streaming and DVDs became two divisions within Netflix with very different goals.

Streaming focused on the original series fans are so familiar with now - House of Cards, Orange is the New Black - while DVDs attempted to manage the falling subscription base of the mailing side of the business.

Netflix’s DVD subscriptions has fallen from 20 million in 2010 to roughly 5.3 million now, a significant dropoff, but not as large when one considers many people don’t even know Netflix has DVDs anymore.

Newer and more high-profile films and shows still head to the DVD side of Netflix first or exclusively, so subscribers seeking quality or recently released movies are often still on the mailing list. Customers in rural areas without fast Internet options also opt for the DVDs. Both of these groups add up to hundreds of millions in profit each year for Netflix.

Read more at The New York Times.

Brief Take: The story of Netflix’s growth and global domination has largely centered on its streaming service, but the DVDs give subscribers an added option and customer service that helps the brand keep its premium appeal.

[Image courtesy of Netflix]

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