As most of us know, about ten years ago, the government gave consumers no other choice but to get converter boxes just so they could continue to watch regular network TV. This box had to be purchased if someone wanted to convert their analog TV over to being digital or so that it could pick up a digital signal. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to watch TV at all.
When the boxes were first made available to the public, the government sent out coupons that would give people $40 off when buying these boxes. So, most people could get them for around $10.
A lot of people ended up becoming very frustrated with trying to program or pick up signals with that box, so they opted to just get cable instead--which is just what the cable people were most likely waiting for.
