When we had satellite TV (more than a decade ago), one of the conditions was to keep the receiver plugged into the phone line. If it wasn't plugged in, there'd

When we had satellite TV (more than a decade ago), one of the conditions was to keep the receiver plugged into the phone line. If it wasn't plugged in, there'd be a $5 surcharge on the bill that month. I figured this was because they were collecting data on viewership habits. Each customer profile must have been worth $5 or more, based on the surcharge amount. (The phone line was useful for other things too, like ordering PPV/on-demand/premium channels through the menus directly, as opposed to calling them in through a 1-800 number.)