This Guy is Happy Netflix Raised its Prices

The phrase "one-in-a-million" was written for Eddie Yoon.

Yoon is a principal at The Cambridge Group, a growth strategy consulting firm. He recently

on the Netflix

price increase, which he applauds and welcomes with open arms. “I have no problem being generous to companies that have a track record of being exponentially more generous to me,” Yoon wrote. “A generous company is one that has repeatedly given me far more benefits than the dollars I have paid. A generous company is one that values the importance of stewardship and takes their talents, technology and profits to enrich their consumers versus just consume their riches. Netflix is consistently one of those companies.” He makes some interesting points. But don't tell that to

or the millions of cable subscribers that used to pay a fair price for that content. Yoon says that he has been a customer since 1999. He cites his ability to watch movies in different forms and across different devices as being a reason to willingly pay more for the service. But he ignores the fact that with a higher price point for DVDs (and their inevitable elimination), Netflix users will eventually pay more for less. Right now, you cannot stream every movie that you can get on DVD. That isn't likely to change – ever. And unlike DVDs, when Netflix streams a movie, it is not guaranteed to be there forever. That isn't likely to change either. Yoon continues: “Netflix's history of generosity proves to me that they will take my money and invest it in an ever-improving product. They also have established a regular rhythm of innovation--every other week or so, I see new content. I believe that any profit I give them will come back to me in new benefits.” Call me crazy, but I think this guy is really getting his hopes up. “Another potential benefit: if Netflix continues to acquire great content, someday I will be able to cancel my cable subscription and actually save money.” Wait, I was wrong.

he is getting his hopes up. You see, Yoon forgets that cable providers don't have a cap for how much TV we watch. I can leave my TVs on – every single set in the house – and never see a price increase. Netflix, however, can only be streamed with a broadband Internet connection. Decent broadband retails for upwards of $40 a month with a monthly data cap in the area of

. If a user exceeds that data cap, some companies will issue a warning while others will permanently remove the user from the service. (VentureBeat has a

on the matter.) Yoon may be correct in his belief that Netflix could save him money – for now. But in the long run, a subscription to Netflix and monthly Internet access are likely to cost him so much more than cable ever did. You can read the rest of Yoon's story on

, where it has been republished as part of the HBR Insight Center

.