When cable TV consumers evade cable access fees by purchasing illegal "pirated" cable boxes, a vicious cycle results. The use of pirated cable boxes by consumers forces cable companies to raise rates, which, in turn, leads more consumers to purchase pirated cable boxes in order to receive free cable programming.

The cycle described above could not result unless which of the following were true?

An increase in cable TV rates causes some consumers to cancel their service or reduce the number of premium channels to which they subscribe.
Some methods for detecting and disabling pirated cable boxes are effective at forcing pirated cable TV consumers to pay user fees or forgo cable TV programming, although the success rates vary considerably.
When cable TV executives establish cable access fees in order to generate an acceptable level of profit, they do not adequately account for revenue that will be lost through pirated cable use.
No one who routinely uses illegal pirated cable boxes can be induced by lower cable access fees to stop using pirated cable boxes unless fines for the use of such boxes are raised at the same time.
Cable TV consumers do not differ with respect to the cable access fees that would cause them to consider purchasing illegal pirated cable boxes.

I would go with B..........not sure

"could not result unless which of the following were true" means this is an assumption question.

C: rising fees of cable company -> more people purchase pirated box
E: more pirated box -> more rising fees

A: cable companies does not accurately set the prices

Ans. C is the best choice.

+1 for C..
A says that An increase in cable TV rates causes some consumers to cancel their service or reduce the number of premium channels to which they subscribe.
A doesn't say anything wrt piracy..
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i go with B
As per the argument the companies raised charges because of piracy....so unless there is a check consumers would still continue to use pirated cables and the company would still keep on losing revenue.
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Kaustubh

sorry read the question wrong the question asks for reason for continuation of cycle and so c fits here perfectly..
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Kaustubh

Classic Sunk cost case in Budgeting ..

yes,indeed C it is,as considering it at the first place wouldn't have caused the increase in the fee.
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I also chose A and I don't get why C is correct.

The question asks:
The cycle described above could not result unless which of the following were true?
in other words:
The cycle needs what of the following to be complete?

If users buy pirated boxes but do NOT cancel their services (negation of A), the company won't notice anything and not increase prices. Hence, we need people to stop subscription -> company notices -> increases price

I think C would be correct if the question were
The cycle described above could not result WHEN which of the following were true?
in other words:
What do we need to destroy the cycle?

C would be correct in this case, because prices might not be increased -> cycle broken

An increase in cable TV rates causes some consumers to cancel their service or reduce the number of premium channels to which they subscribe. IRRELEVANT
Some methods for detecting and disabling pirated cable boxes are effective at forcing pirated cable TV consumers to pay user fees or forgo cable TV programming, although the success rates vary considerably. OUT OF SCOPE
When cable TV executives establish cable access fees in order to generate an acceptable level of profit, they do not adequately account for revenue that will be lost through pirated cable use. IF THIS HAPPENS, THE CYCLE WILL NOT RESULT
No one who routinely uses illegal pirated cable boxes can be induced by lower cable access fees to stop using pirated cable boxes unless fines for the use of such boxes are raised at the same time. OUT OF SCOPE
Cable TV consumers do not differ with respect to the cable access fees that would cause them to consider purchasing illegal pirated cable boxes. TOO EXTREME

Edit:
Actually, on second thought, looks like I misread the question. The question actually asks: the cycle could not result unless which of the following were true, meaning what is the must have ingredient for the cycle to result.
E actually is saying that cable tv consumers are indifferent to cable access fees, meaning they don't care if the rates rise, so they won't switch to illegal cable boxes. this is not a must-have ingredient to making the cycle work, it is the opposite- to make it not work.
i get it. it helps to stare at the question for a while and rephrase it in your head.