Back in the early 90s DRECTV was buy-only. A typical system cost about $700 when it 1st came out.
It came with a video, allowing you to install it yourself.
BOTH satellite TV providers went up after they started giving you the system.
There is no such thing as a free satellite tv system, your bill partly pays for that new system cost, whether or not you already have your own paid system.
I noticed the same thing with cell phone companies, plans went up when they started giving away phones.
If I ran DIRECTV, I would have a "owned system" programming price, add $15 a month to the monthly bill for new systems, which would roll off after 1 year.
That way people who bought and paid for their system can enjoy lower bills.
4DTV Satellite is cheaper than dish or directv, because they never handed out systems or receivers. Directv, Dish Network, and every cell phone company would be cheaper if they never gave stuff away.
Where to start..
Ok, first of all, 4DTV is NOT cheaper all told. Their programming packs are strategically built just like any other provider, which forces you to take channels that you wouldn't ever watch or pay exorbitant a la carte prices. Plus, HD is nowhere to be found.
Second, cell phones have ALWAYS been subsidized. You ALWAYS got $200-300 off the phone for signing a contract, all the way back to the Motorola Brick, the bag phone, and the car phone. I know because I used to sell them. The only change was somewhere around 7-8 years ago they changed from a 1 year to a 2 year contract. And all things considered, the price of a cell phone plan has DROPPED drastically over the past 15 years. You get more minutes, texts, and add-on crap now than ever before. I remember when plans used to be $1 a minute and more. Now for $100 a month you get unlimited everything.
The price increases in all industries across the board are mostly accounting for simple inflation. Total Choice Platinum used to be $80 a month in 2000. Now we have Premiere, which is $115 and actually includes more than Platinum. Adjusted for inflation, Platinum would cost $106 a month today, meaning in 12 years the price has actually only increased $9.
As for your $15 a month for a year "rent to own" plan.. You might want to grab a calculator and rethink that. $15x12=$180. That won't even cover the cost of one receiver. HD receivers cost several hundred dollars each. Average install is 3 or 4 receivers. Plus the cost of the dish, cable/parts, and installation. $180 < $1000+