Netflix took a calculated risk this week in forcing a large number of their subscribers to make a choice that they already declined once. Attempting to bucket their consumers into costly physical media stalwarts versus more profitable instant downloaders, people now have to choose to receive discs by mail for $8, movies online for $8, or pay for both at $16.

They already gave users an option to go online only for a savings of $2 over the new combined plan of $10 just a few months ago. By entirely eliminating the middle path for everyone, they risk losing a large portion of their subscriber base.

Even telecom companies, which routinely rank at the bottom of many customer satisfaction surveys, have never raised their rates by 78% in one year (from $9 > $16). Though some subscribers will doubtlessly succumb, it is a bigger risk for Netflix than it would be for other companies. They are raising prices for everyone on the plan at once because they do not lock anyone into contracts and are not giving any bonuses for loyalty.

Phone companies can get away with increasing prices because their entire clientele is staggered on 1 and 2 year intervals. Cable companies have been known to occasionally grandfather in existing customers to keep their prior plans. I do not know if that is a law or a relic from earlier times, but typically rates go up the most when you sign up for new services (after the initial promotion ends).

Netflix is not doing either, and is susceptible to a real backlash in customer satisfaction. It is a rare case when consumers actually have a focused time in which they can exert their power and cancel their accounts to make a statement if they so choose. The subscription model will force people to decide more quickly about the new pricing model. Only time will tell if customers will organize to reject the lofty price hike and cause a public company to blink. I don’t know that I would go so far as to start buying Blockbuster stock, but it is probably a good time to sell Netflix (NFLX) given their meteoric 600% rise in the past two years.