In the 14 years since we started Netflix, we’ve gained more than 25 million customers worldwide by providing the best DVD by mail service anywhere. Along the way, we’ve built an unrivaled streaming service that continues to grow every day. Today we want to tell you about some big changes at Netflix as we get ready for the future.

To begin, we’re adding a video games upgrade option to our DVD by mail service. Similar to our upgrade option for Blu-ray, DVD members can now rent Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 games. This is something we’ve been asked to do for years, and we’re pleased to finally provide it.

As we worked on this new addition, we could no longer deny that the DVD and streaming services are growing apart very quickly. These are in fact two very different businesses, with different customer needs. We even have different offices for them! Providing an experience that simultaneously addresses these two very different worlds has become an increasing challenge for us as we grow the company and evolve the website.

That’s why today we’re announcing significant changes to our company. First, we are renaming the DVD by mail business to Netflix Classic. This is the same DVD rental service you’re used to, but it’s more than just a name: Netflix Classic is a new company, operating independently as a subsidiary of Netflix.

Moving forward, Netflix as a company will be dedicated to streaming media. This is a realization of our original vision, and of the company’s name: watching movies over the Internet. The Netflix.com website and mobile apps will exclusively service our streaming library. DVD members will manage their queues at classic.netflix.com.

If you subscribe to both services, you’ll see two charges on your credit card instead of one, but you’ll pay the same total amount per month you do now. This, along with our recent pricing changes, is just a necessary outcome from creating two separate companies. DVD members will of course still receive the same red Netflix envelope that has been familiar to them all these years.

Members can log into both sites using the same login. This will allow streaming-only members to add DVD by mail, and DVD-only members to upgrade to streaming, at any time. The websites, however, will remain separate, so that we can start giving these different worlds the unique attention they deserve.

We think the benefits are going to be huge. We’ll be rolling out the new websites in a few weeks, and you’ll see right away what we’re able to accomplish by providing a dedicated experience for each service. Until then, check out this video we made to see just a few examples of the new sites in action.

We want to thank you for supporting us for all these years, and we are very excited about all the new benefits Netflix and Netflix Classic are about to bring you. We can’t wait for you to try it out yourselves.