The convenience of ordering a movie from home became hugely popular. And with the additional facilities like cheap rentals, no late fees and no due dates it really caught the fancy of the market. Even postal charges were not included and viewers could order online, 24 hours a day, from a huge collection of movies.

From the very beginning, the DVD rental industry became quite fashionable and it outdated the general DVD rental shop, which had all kinds of extra charges tagged with a DVD. The online availability of DVDs made it more popular as the viewer did not have to go anywhere to watch his favorite movie.

The process of ordering the DVD became simple like never before. The viewer just had to visit the DVD rental company's website, get a membership and choose from the list of movies available on the site. He could then order for the movies and the movies would get delivered by first class post to him in no time at all. In some ways, the DVD rental industry has also given a big boost to the postal system of every country.

The big players

The DVD rental by mail industry was pioneered by the US firm Netflix, launched in 1999 to take advantage of the power of the internet and cheap and easy delivery of DVDs by post, while eliminating late fees or any kind of hidden charges. Netflix was the first one to introduce online DVD rentals and was able to get a patent on this business idea. They are the pioneers in the online DVD rental industry. Netflix is the ideal model for the entire industry and is still the dominant company in the U.S.

Another DVD rental industry giant, Lovefilm, alone controls 23 percent of all DVD rentals from all over the world. Lovefilm delivers out over 2 million discs per month. It is a UK based company that offers various types of membership plans and facilities as well.

Another big player in the DVD rental industry, Blockbuster controls over a quarter of the market and has increased emphasis on its online division, with quality probably just as good as its brick and mortar store. Blockbuster claimed one million online customers in August 2005, two million by March 2006, and finished the first quarter of 2007 with three million.

Conclusion

The DVD rental industry had an explosive growth in 2005 and 2006 and it is expected to continue through for at least several more years. Though the boom in this industry is yet to create history in the world of cinema, the DVD rental industry will probably continue this excessive growth for at least several more years as it goes for the big picture, driving many street video shops out of date in the process.