Netflix began in 1997 when Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph tested the concept of renting DVDs by mail. They launched Netflix.com as the first ever DVD rental and sales site in 1998. The business began as a subscription service offering members unlimited DVD rentals without due dates, late fees or monthly rental limits. The year 2000 saw the introduction of a movie recommendation system that used member’s ratings on past titles to predict future choices.

In 2002, Netflix made its initial public offering (IPO) at a selling prace of $1 per share under the NASDAQ ticker NFLX. It earned its patent in 2003, and membership surpassed 1 million in that year. The profile feature launched in 2005, and in 2006, membership had reached 5 million subscribers. Streaming became introduced on the platform in 2007. The streamer arrived in Canada in 2010 and Latin America and the Caribbean in 2011. Membership reached 25 million subscribers in 2012, and Netflix expanded to the United Kingdom, Ireland and Nordic Countries then. The platform ventured into stand-up specials this year too with Bill Burr’s You People Are All the Same.

The first original programs for Netflix were Hemlock Grove, Orange Is the New Black, House of Cards and Arrested Development, which arrived to Netflix in 2013. House of Cards won three Primetime Emmy awards, marking the first for an internet streaming service. In 2014, membership passed 50 million, and the streamer ventured into Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland. Streaming also got an upgrade with 4K Ultra HD that year.

2015 saw the streamer’s first feature film, Beasts of No Nation and the first non-English original series Club de Cuervos as well as the debut of the first Asian original Terrace House. Audio descriptions also launched that year with Marvel’s Daredevil as membership was made available in Australia, Cuba, Italy, Japan, Spain and New Zealand. In 2017, the streamer reached 100 million subscribers across the globe, and it won its first Oscar for The White Helmets. The streamer has gone on to win more Academy Awards for Roma (2018), and Period. End of Sentence. The top 10 list of highest-viewed projects in a week debuted in 2020, and membership hit 200 million in 2021.