Customers are up in arms! Or at least, media outlets are up in arms over Netflix’s announced split ^[1] of its streaming service and by-mail disk service into two separate subscriptions starting at $7.99 a month each. For users who currently get one disk at a time plus streaming, that translates to a near-60 percent price hike, from $9.99 to $15.98 per month.

Michelle Castillo announced on the CBS website ^[2] that she’s “breaking up” with Netflix as a result. Atlantic ^[3] editor Daniel Indiviglio gives seven reasons why this is a “bonehead move,” claiming that if half the current disk renters don’t go for the extra streaming charge (he and his wife plan not to) profits could drop 95 percent.

With all due respect to these experts, I think they’re wrong. Our household may be atypical, but I believe it’s the way of the future: We no longer have cable or any other for-pay TV service. We stream Netflix to our televisions, as well as several mobile devices, and we never for a moment considered giving up the streaming service. My husband thought we might drop the disk service, but as nearly everyone has pointed out, much  of the good stuff on Netflix isn’t available for streaming, at least not yet.

I think three factors will work in Netflix’s favor:

1. Netflix is far ahead of every competitor in streaming to all sorts of devices, and in its selection of disks. This is especially true now that it’s branching out from its U.S. base to 43 other countries ^[4]. Yes, Hulu Plus has made some inroads, but you have to pay a monthly fee and still watch ads. (No thanks.)
2. They were smart enough to get the word out to every subscriber w-a-a-y in advance. By the time the increase actually happens on September 1, it’ll be old news.
3. Yes, it’s a big increase, but that’s because the price is low to begin with. I think $15.98 a month just isn’t that much money, especially for someone paying $70 a month or more to their cable provider, or someone like me who stopped doing so, thanks to Netflix.

Are the pundits right, or am I? We’ll know in about ten weeks.