Digital STBs were around $800 a decade ago, and have probably declined to a couple hundred dollars at this point. The cable companies didn't have any trouble recouping on them, they just tied the high end boxes to high-end plans (e.g. HD only, back in the early 2000s when not everyone had HD).
It strikes me as remarkably parallel to how the phone companies are handling smartphones today, bundling them with premium-level services.
It strikes me as remarkably parallel to how the phone companies are handling smartphones today, bundling them with premium-level services.