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.
