It is similar to what my cable company does with modems/routers. You can rent or you can buy, but you must select from a list of preferred.
By January 2016, they are finally dropping the analog TV signal and encrypting the digital TV signal, so a mini-box or regular box are mandatory. Not more watching via a direct cable outlet-to-TV. I knew this day would come when they started pushing HD and digital about a decade ago.
I have a PCTV card in my desktop and a USB TV connection for my laptop. I also have a couple of home DVRs. I think I can get by with 2 boxes, as the cable also offers many of their channels via a PC/Laptop app. One or 2 mini-boxes will be free for 1 year, depending on which ad the local office goes with. Some ads say 1 free box, others say 2 free boxes.
The rental for the mini-boxes will be $1.99/mo each. There is not indication that they are available for purchase. They do have to be activated by the cable service.
"By January 2016, they are finally dropping the analog TV signal and encrypting the digital TV signal, so a mini-box or regular box are mandatory. Not more watching via a direct cable outlet-to-TV. I knew this day would come when they started pushing HD and digital about a decade ago."
Whoa. Where did you get this info?
That analog comment is a separate issue and has nothing to do with this.
You seem to be saying that cable companies ( who? ) are going a step further and encrypting the entire bandwidth including basic cable and free channels. There is a whole world of TV manufacturers that would be negatively affected by this. They would in effect be changed into display/monitor manufacturers overnight. And they would be the ones hearing from customers and getting TVs returned.
The cable companies themselves are being attacked already from both sides ( customers and channel conglomerates ) and get blamed for everything, and already see an exodus of people to other delivery systems. They would be positively suicidal to make a move like you suggest.