Another half-baked notion: broadband + subscription tv + set-top box

Sell a subscription service and a simple set-top box (media PC/PVR) package. New customers will create their new subscription account using the set-top box, which will request a strong UID from the server. From the set-top box, subscribers can select from current or past television shows and movies. Let's say that a movie deducts $2.00 from their account, and a TV show deducts $.50. Subscribers pay into their account as their balance dwindles. The data is encrypted using the set-top box's UID. Yeah, DRM sucks, but you'd have to do something to get the studios on board. The downloaded content is ad-free, which the subscribers would appreciate (a la pay-er-view). Content providers get a large chunk of the revenues, plus actual (aggregate) viewing data that they can actually use, instead of the garbage ratings system currently in use. Just occurred to me as some relatives were talking about a movie on pay-per-view. What do you all think?